Scarlet Dreams
by secretofserenity
Summary: After Yuuki chose Kaname, Zero is feeling rejected, heartbroken, but most of all... lonely. But, can the pessimestic and eccentric Bree change that? Disclaimer: i do not own Vampire Knight. Flames welcome! slight kanameXyuuki ZeroXOC. rated T for language
1. pity

Hello and welcome to the grand opening of Scarlet dreams!!

I except flames, but I like to think of it as constructive criticism.

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Zero bit his lip to stop from crying out. He told himself to remain calm. Yuuki had chosen Kaname, she had made that pretty obvious the last time they had spoken. Still, they didn't have to go gallivanting around like this, he thought as he watched the reason for his pain from the corner of his eye. Kaname picked up a piece of beautiful auburn hair resting on her shoulder, and began playing with it. He then bend down and whisper something in her ear, she began laughing, and Kaname eventually joined in. oh, god how Zero loved her laugh, it was like the tinkling of heaven's bells. Kaname reached for Yuukis chin and pulled her lips to his in a gentle kiss. When they _finally_ broke apart, Yuuki noticed Zero watching them and blushed before quickly looking away.

Zero tried not to notice the flow of red blood in her cheeks, but instead rolled his hands into fists so tightly that his nails dug into him, and blood immediately began to drip out. Zero had been getting better at controlling himself, but he already felt so crushed inside, he just gave over to the urge before running to a near tree, and began licking the crimson drops of his hand. Hew then crumbled, sliding pitifully to the trunk of the tree. No wonder why Yuuki had left him, he was only a sad little existence compared to the pureblood Kaname.

Eventually Zero decided to get up and go to class, class might have been over by then- he had lost track of time in his self pity- but he had to check, or Yuuki would be angry. It was amazing she even paid any attention to him, especially when she had that perfect specimen Kaname dangling in front of her.

As he walked away, there was one thing he knew, his heart- that had broken in to such fine pieces that it was almost dust- could never be healed.

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	2. first day

Disclaimer: I do not own vampire knight! If I did, I would be the happiest girl on earth, sadly, I don't. I, however, DO own the character Bree.

Yay! First fanfic posted happy dance! Hope y'all enjoy my fic!

PS: this is from Bree's p.o.v

Okay, deep breath, everything is going to be _fine_, I lied to myself. This school is going to be different than all the others, I was 99.9 _not_ sure. This was going to work out. Ya, right. I examined the walkway closely, trying unsuccessfully to think of _anything_ but what lie before me. A new school (scary music plays) how unfortunate, for lack of a better word, or ,ahem, swear.

"Hey there!"

I swear I must have jumped about a thousand feet. I whirled on whoever approached me, the _freak_ girl, and came face to face with a short brown haired girl.

She suddenly looked worried "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, my names Wakaba Sayori." she held out her hand politely, and I stared at it blankly. Usually I just keep to myself, but when people confront me like this, I guess I have to be polite. _New beginning_, I reminded myself as I hesitantly took her hand.

" The name's Breanne, but _please_ don't call me that, I prefer Bree." I tried out my much practiced optimistic smile, which she looked like she didn't buy. How could she not? After hours and hours upon hours of practicing, she didn't buy it! I must have been doing something wrong.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I caught your last name?" she said as she looked at me confusedly. Crap! I forgot about that.

"My last name, right, because you know, _everyone_ has a last name right." nice Bree, good way to dodge the question. She didn't drop it though.

"yes, so what may I ask, is your last name?" I felt like screaming at her, NO! you may NOT ask!, But upon reminding myself once again, new beginning, I reluctantly sucked in a breath to lie. She looked at me expectantly. Just at that moment, a loud screeching noise went off to mark the beginning of class, and I took the chance to grab my bag and run.

Saved by the bell, how _cliché._

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Yay! Second chappy finished!

Review? YES!

PLEASE!!


	3. Zero Tolerance ha, get it?

3rd chapter YAY!!

I think this chapter is going to be short, though. I have still got jet lag from going to Banff. It was fun, though!!

Ok back to story, do ya like it??

Its my first fanfic so play nice.

Its going to be Bree's POV for most of the chapters, so get used to it.

I am sooooo sorry that I haven't been updating much. I am trying to make my chapters longer, which is really hard since I barely have time to write. Darn you homework! Why do you haunt me so? I guess my teachers just hate me.

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School was terrible, but since when has that been new? The teachers were acceptable, I guess, but I ended up sitting with that Sayori girl, 'cause all the others were freaking _crazy_, all giggly and going on and on about some dudes called Idol- senpai and Wild- senpai. I mean, what the hell, right? Who in their right minds would name their kids that? Its like, "come here, Idol, dear, its time for supper!" and "oh, look at how cute little Wild looks in that hat!" god! Well, anyways, getting back to the story, I think me and Sayori are the only normal girls in the class.

Oh! And Sayori's friend, Yuuki, she seems nice enough, only, she slept the entire time. Sayori says shes like that because she has night duty because she is a prefect. Interesting.

Well, I guess today was _alright._ Sayori didn't pressure me to talk, so it didn't feel awkward when I didn't say anything. Sleeping beauty couldn't exactly make conversation, either, so I was comfortable. My social anxieties didn't even flare up that much today, so bonus.

At the end of the day, I was gathering my books quickly, just wanting to go back to my apartment from hell, when I heard some more giggly girls talking about those weirdoes with the abnormal names, I was just about ready to lose it, when the strangest looking guy walked past me. His hair was like stardust, his eyes cold, but with a hint of friendliness in them, shoulders broad and strong. It was strange, this was the first time I had ever been attracted to someone. I moved slightly, and guess who was beside him.

The Sleeping beauty Yuuki.

Great. That just makes my day. The one guy that I thought might be decent, already had a girlfriend. Well, I guess it was pretty slim picking with all these stereotype Barbie fan girls around here.

I just brushed past him and Yuuki, pretending that I didn't care, and got caught up in a mob of screeching fan girls. The frigging monkey screeching was starting to hurt my ears, so I slapped my hands over them, and just went with the crowd.

So, anyways, we ended up at this weird looking place that was like, all freakishly beautiful, and when I asked one of the Barbie girls (hey, I had to talk to someone!) why it looked like that, she said that it matched the people living inside. I was going to ask why she said that, when Yuuki and her beautiful boyfriend pushed through the crowds, the guy yelling out commands to the rest of the Barbie girls and threatening them. God, he was perfect. Okay, I know that most girls wouldn't have said that well watching someone make death threats, but since when have I ever been like most girls?

So I was watching them try to push the crowd of Barbie girls back, when the doors swung open, and the baboon screeching got louder. I pulled my coat over my aching ears, while feebly wondering why girls made that sound. Like, seriously, the police should hire them to stun criminals. I managed to see enough through my newly hatched headache, that I could see the perfects (my new nickname for them) walking through the crowd of giggling girls. Most of them stopped to flirt with the girls, or except presents, except for one. He headed straight for Yuuki, and that sure made me mad. Did she have _everyone _hanging off of her? After that, I quickly turned and began making my way through the crowds, just wanting to go home, no matter how crappy that home was.

Which, I guess, is why I didn't see the guy with hair like stardust leave, which, little did I know, ends up to be the one tiny thing that turns my life upside down, sideways, right side up and back again.

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Love it?

Like it?

Hate it?

Personally, I think this chapter turned out kinda corny.

Please, please, please review!!

FLAMES ARE WELCOME!!

I really tried to make this chapter longer. Is it long enough, short enough? TELL ME!!

Because I ain't adding another chapter until I get at least 2 reviews!

Oh, I feel so mean now.L


	4. of memories and demons

Okokokokok. FORGIVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. I know that its been a long time, but I've been wondering how to do this chapter. I had a few ideas but nothing seemed to work!!!!! Well anyways, now that its here, you might as well enjoy it.

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I walked along the edge of the river, it always seemed to have such a calming effect on me. I crouched down and ran my hand through the water. I cupped some in my hand and slowly brought it to my mouth. I sipped it before tossing it back into the water, where I watched the resulting ripples with a lot more interest than I felt. It had tasted okay, better than the water at my apartment (well, at least it wasn't brown!). Actually, now that I thought about it, I liked the way it tasted. Like nature. Good. I had a lot of memories at rivers, with my family, with the orphanage, and just with myself for company. There was a memory I remembered everyday, it was still crystal clear, the words as crisp as if I'd spoken them not twelve years ago, but twelve minutes.

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_(flashback)_

_I stood at the edge of the water, holding my mother's hand. "but Mommy, why do you gotta go away?" I asked innocently. She looked surprised for a moment , before smiling softly and kneeling down so we were at the same height "honey," she said sadly "Everyone has to go away eventually." I threw my little arms around her and squeezed, trying to make her realize that she had to stay. "But mommy, I don't want you to leave, I love you! Please stay, I love you so much!" I began to cry, why couldn't my mommy just stay? "some people just have to go, sweetheart. They don't have a choice. I want you to have a good life, one I never had, just try to be yourself, and smile more." she said as she pushed up the corners of my trembling lips "just do this for me, and I promise, you'll be alright!". "NO!" I yelled through ragged sobs. "please, please, I need you!" I yelled as I pulled myself even closer to her, we were practically stuck to each other like glue. She pulled a lock of my hair away from my face, and tucked it behind my ear " your beautiful, Breanne, my baby, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, when you find a man you want to love, make sure he loves you just as much as I do, honey. When he can look at you, with makeup running down your face, your hair unbrushed, in your sweats, and he says 'god, your beautiful' and means it, you know he's the one." "but mommy, I still don't want you to leave, why are you telling me this? Aren't you coming back? If you come back, you can see me do all these things yourself!"_

_She sighed and rested her head on my shoulder as she began to cry too. We sat there for hours in the snow, until eventually, "they" came to get her. I called them "they" because I didn't know what else to call them, you see they weren't exactly human, but not monster either. I sat waiting for my mother to come back for what seemed like days, until the police found me unconscious in the snow. What rotten luck. When I woke up, I cried for hours, realizing that my mom had been saying those things to prepare me, because she really wasn't coming back, I was left alone. The police stopped by a weird looking building. They had said they were taking me home, but this wasn't home, there were kids, my age, older , and younger, playing in the front yard. I asked where I was "orphanage" they responded. I cocked my head to the side. I'd never heard that word before. A couple ladies who looked like nuns came running out, and took my luggage. I opened the door "hey! Don't touch that, that's my stuff! No!" I yelled, they came over and started explaining to me why I was going to live here now, but I wouldn't listen. 'No! I want to go home!" I screamed as I began to cry again. Eventually, they had to rip me out of the vehicle, and as my fingers slipped from the door, so did my grip on everything that mattered. Nothing did anymore. I was alone._

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I punched my fist into the ground, as the memories sorrow became my own once again. My hand was bleeding pretty badly, (I had hit a rock when I had stupidly hit the ground) and I began to cry as the days stress caught up with me, crashing together like a train wreck. Suddenly I was extremely tired, and just wanted to go home and get a hot shower. I heard the crackling of the dense underbrush, I quickly whirled on the intruder, my muscles pumped with adrenaline. It was just the guy with the stardust like hair (I really needed to learn his name!) and I relaxed. "all students are supposed to be in there dorms by now, what are you doing here?" he said coolly. "oh, nothing, but may, I ask sir what are _you doing here?" I said sarcastically. He raised an eyebrow "sir?". I relaxed even more, thanks to his calm demeanor "well, I hardly know your name." _

"_Zero"_

"_one namer, eh?"_

"_Kiryuu"_

"_put those together and we get…?"_

"_Zero Kiryuu" he said, annoyed._

"_YAY! You did it! That's our lesson for today, children!" secretly, I was laughing inside. I usually didn't act like this around people, but for some reason, something about him was really relaxing. 'his comatose expressions, maybe?" I joked to myself ._

_Yes, everything was quite fine until I made the worst mistake of my life. I RAISED MY FIST. Yes that's right, the bloody cut up, reduced to hamburger meat one._

_All the sudden, his eyes turned a real dark shade of red, crimson, and he began to make this choking noise, as he looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. And I ran._

_I ran until my feet were swollen and bloody, and even then I pushed my abused feet further. I ran straight to the bus stop, and past it, straight to my apartment, this time ignoring the rats, and the drunk guys in the bar hitting on me. As soon as I got in, I was greeted by my five dogs, Ratter, Teddy, Mose, Yodel, and Ti, but I blew past them, too. I locked the door, closed the blinds, made sure the windows were tightly closed, before finally allowing myself the luxury of sitting down._

_Would you like to know the reason I ran so fast, the reason I ran as soon as I saw that evil colour, the one that brings nothing but bad? Of course you would._

_When he changed, he looked exactly like the things that took Mom away._

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_YAY! Finally done! Please ,please, please, please review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

_-ur friend serenity!_


	5. not exactly what i'd call a day off

Disclaimer: I do not own vampire knight, but I do own Bree.

Kk, I'm back now!!!!!!!. PLEASE!!!!!! I really need reviews!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH! And I'm sooooo, sooooo sorry about half of the end of my last chapter being in _slant_ when it wasn't supposed to be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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After the um….. _dramatic_ events that took place yesterday, I decided I needed a day off. I was really quite freaked out, so that might explain the reason why I am now sitting, with a pot over my head, in a circle of salt and holy water, with pillows covering me. I tried not to notice the crawly things all over the rotten boards of my apartment. Ratter had fallen asleep under here with me, too. I hugged the little brown Chihuahua closer to me. My dogs _were _my family. And I knew that I didn't need anyone else. Sometimes I did get lonely, though. I'm not crazy enough to think my dogs can answer me. Yet.

Eventually I got tired of playing the exorcist under my pillow fort, so I decided it was time for breakfast.

I always had a little _difficulty_ with the kitchen we had a kind of treaty, I guess you could call it. Usually, I stayed away from it, and it didn't light my home on fire. So, _yeah_, i wasn't exactly super good at cooking. Oh, well. I definitely wasn't going to leave my sanctuary today, so someone had to feed my family and I. I looked down at Ratter, and he seemed to be saying "Bree, who are you kidding? You can't cook. Let me do it."

See? I told you it was only a matter of time before I went kooky and thier looks started to click and make sense.

Better start with something easy: eggs. I mean, how hard can it be? I can just get my little mind people who live in my head and translate my dog's looks to people talk to help me. Ha-ha. Lets call them Fred and George. Ok, first things first, I need some eggs. I think I bought some yesterday. I grasped the rusted handle of the fridge, and pulled. Immediately, I felt the hinges give out from under my hand, and the door fell off. I stood holding it in my hand before totally freaking out and screaming a string of profanity at the top of my lungs. Eventually, my ramblings became audible, and , I grabbed the door with both hands, and tossed it over my shoulder as I headed for the stairs. The apartment matenence guys were gonna have an earful about this, oh _yes_ their life will soon be hell on earth, minus the fire. No, wait, now that I think about it, I might be able to get that in there, too. I got some weird looks. I can just _hear what people must be thinking "hey there goes that crazy girl who talks to herself, lugging a door down the stairs"_

_As soon as I got down the first flight, the stairs started to look a little less stable. Oh, well. I took a testing step on the first one, and when it didn't brake, I put more weight on it. Still no breakage. There, I knew they weren't rotten. I took another carefree step, putting all my weight on the step, before hearing a snapping sound. I was in freefall for one gut-wrenching second, before falling through the steps, getting stuck, my hair snagging on the splinters of wood. I felt for the bottom, stretching out to my full 5"4 length. When I couldn't feel it, I consoled myself with the fact that, at least the day couldn't get any worse. Suddenly, I heard a scraping noise, and, to my horror, I looked at the top of the steps, where the refrigerator door was dangerously balanced. "Ah!" I squeaked as it began tipping towards me, "No, no, no!" I begged as I started uselessly blowing at the contraption. The fridge door began sliding down the steps from behind me. My last sight was it coming evilly towards me before everything else faded to black._

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_I awoke to the ringing of a phone, wait, a phone!? I didn't own a phone! I tried to stretch, but my movements were strangely constricted. I urgently opened my eyes. Oh, ya! I sighed as the memories came back piece by piece. I got run over by a fridge. Gee, that's a sentence I never thought I'd say. My back was super sore from all the hanging. Damn my short stature! _

_Eventually, I got hungry, too. Maybe, if I'm lucky, one of the cockroaches will wander too close, and I can capture it for sustenance. Eww, never mind. That's just too gross. Now I can't get that image out of my head. Maybe I'll try thinking about something else. Dogs! Yes, that's it, dogs! I love dogs! Hmm. Much better, oh, no, wait, ah! Dammit all! We're back to cockroaches again. All I did was remind myself of the time that Yodel got sick from eating a cockroach._

_I was snapped out of my thoughts by the opening of the apartment door. It must have been somewhere near 12:00 PM, so, naturally, I couldn't see who it was. They began walking up the stairs, and I became ecstatic. Yay! Freedom! "Oi! Hey, ya, you, there! Mind lending me a hand?" I yelled when they were close. They didn't even jump at the sound of my voice, which was strange, and I got a weird sense of recognition that made my hair stand up on end. As the man leaned into the light, I saw that it was Zero._

_Maybe taking days off wasn't such a good idea anymore._

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_Ok, I know you'll probably hate me for this, but, I AM NOT UPDATING UNTIL I GET AT LEAST THREE REVIEWS ON THIS CHAPTER!_


	6. friendship blues

Omg, I had a tough day. I got hit in the head with a soccer ball three times. Hello mucho headache. This chapter is dedicated to Kate, without whom I would have never made it this far. Hope you have a good time in your new home, Kate! I know Zero's always a little OC, but I hope you enjoy my portrayal of him, anyway!

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For the next few days, Emma made everyone's life living hell. More than once, I caught her threatening seniors. Each time, I would think _does she _want _to get beat up?_ And, although I would never admit it, the girl had style. She was my role model. Okay, I know it's strange for a fifteen year old to be saying that about a twelve year old, but it was true. I found myself copying her movements, and following her around school grounds. I was obsessed, I know.

One the fifth day of her stay, she noticed my presence. She whirled on me, pressing me into a corner on a shadowed part of the school grounds. "Why are you following me?" she snarled.

I tried snarling back, but it didn't have quite the effect I'd hoped it would have. I instead settled for a menacing hiss. Emma backed away, and put her hand under her chin, looking me up and down. "Ooh, spunky." she said once she had appeased her curiosity.

"Your name is… oh, what was it again?" she said, snapping her fingers. "Oh! Cree, right?" she asked happily, as if she had just solved world hunger.

I sighed. "No, that would be a First Nations group."

Emma looked taken aback, before she began walking around me. "Smart _and _sassy! I like you. We are gonna be great friends, I can already tell." she exclaimed as she walked up to me. I found it hard to believe that this was the girl I had seen just a moment ago.

So, even with my protests, Emma and I did indeed become friends. What a scary thought, right?

I also didn't see Zero for a long time, and, just as I was starting to worry, we, of course, ran into him. We almost walked right past him, but Emma saw me staring longingly at him, and promptly proceeded to kindly remind him of my presence. "Oi, idiot, over here!" she yelled as she began waving her arms around. I stepped behind her, and wanted to die.

"Emma, no!" I begged her.

She turned to smile cruelly at me. "Nope, I've seen how you've been looking at him. You've got a _crush_." she cooed sweetly.

I didn't have time to run away like I'd originally planned, so I settled for hiding my face and trying to slip away, unnoticed by either Zero or Emma. But as fate would have it, he noticed me, despite my brilliant disguise of book-in- front-of-face. He walked towards us, towards _me, _and put his hands in his pockets. And then, I ran away, again. I really needed to think of a better way to solve my problems. But for now, it was the best plan of action I'd ever had.

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Only a few other significant things happened today. I got invited to a concert today. I really didn't want to go, but Yuuki gave me puppy eyes.

"Come on!" she begged me. Her and Sayori had been working on me all day.

"No." I said for the umpteenth time.

But, like always, my will broke as soon as Yuuki pulled out those fake sniffles. God dammit all! Why did I have to be born with all those maternal feelings? But anyways, just like Sayori predicted, I am doomed to go to the concert. I don't even know who's singing. It won't matter anyway. I probably won't show up. No offence, but, a concert full of people pushing and shoving all the time isn't really a walk in the park for someone who's claustrophobic, and anti-social. Namely, _moi. _so, I regret to inform you that I will indeed _not_ be attending the concert tomorrow, puppy eyes, or no puppy eyes. With that comforting thought, I fell into bed, not knowing that I, tomorrow, would _indeed _be sitting in a concert stadium, hating every second of it.

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I know that this chapter turned out cheesy, and not _nearly _as long as I would have liked it to be, but please review. PLEASE, OH PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE OH PLEASE!!! REVIEW!!!!!!!!!

IT WILL MAKE ME HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	7. a night at the Oscars, not really

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight, if I did, Bree and Zero would be on their married, and on their honeymoon, along with Kaname and Yuuki.

I am back, and with a vengeance. I just watched the next season of Vampire Knight: Guilty, and got a burst of inspiration.

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I'd have to say that, on my top ten list of things never to do, concerting would be number one. And yet here I was. Crammed like a sardine into a stadium full of hard core rockers, my friends among them. I watched with interest as Emma persuaded some of the guys up front to lift her up. She wasn't invited, but had somehow materialized at our side as we were stuffed into the stadium. I watched her now, let her unruly brown hair down, screaming the lyrics of the song. I sighed, not bothering to conceal my dismay. I hated this. I tried to pretend I was somewhere else. Although, the screaming of everyone around me didn't exactly add to the illusion.

After about thirty tried and failed attempts to enjoy myself, I decided I needed a break. I turned to Yuuki who gave me a questioning look, still bobbing her head to the music (If you would call it that, even). "I'm going outside." I told her, hardly able to hear my voice over the racket.

Her brows furrowed. "What! Talk louder!" she screamed at me.

I took in a deep breath. "Need fresh air!" I screamed back at her, as her clouded expression faded into a softer, more carefree one.

"Oh, Okay!" she yelled back.

I breathed a sigh of relief, as I started forcing my way back through the crowd of screaming fans. When I had successfully made my way outside, I took a quick recon of the deserted street. When I saw somewhere that wasn't too damp, I walked over, and sunk down. I put my head in my hands. What was wrong with me? Why didn't I fit in with any of the girls? Why was I so different? My soul searching moment was interrupted by the rough voice of a man. I looked up, to see the guy from my class who had yelled at Emma a couple days ago standing over me. And he wasn't alone. They all reeked of beer. I shakily stood up. If only Emma were here now.

Oh, well. I didn't need Emma, or anyone, I could take care of myself. I put on my brave face, which was pretty damn good, let me tell you, and stood on my tippytoes. "Look, Guys, I don't want any trouble." I said in my best steely voice.

I tried to press past them, but was pushed back. "Hey, don't be so stingy, we just want to talk." oh, god, his mouth smelt like a bar.

I growled, causing them to look taken aback, just for a moment. "Uh, uh. You let me go _right_ _now!_" I shouted as I tried once again to push past them.

They laughed. "Oh, you're sure a spunky one!" he said with a grin that made me want to barf. He then moved just a fraction closer. " but don't worry, I like 'em like that! How 'bouts we's go gets us something' to drink!" he said, clapping his hands.

I could tell that he was terribly drunk. His words were starting to slur. There was three of them, and only one of me. I was in a bad place. I still didn't show them that I was scared. I forced my voice not to falter, and said "I'm not going _anywhere_ with _you!_ you Pig!" I screamed a him, waving my arms for emphasis.

Uh-oh. I had crossed the line, his expression angered, and he twisted my arm so hard behind my back, it caused me to let out a squeak of pain. And it took a lot of pain to get me to say anything. I tried to drive my heel into his in-step, but he caught my ankle, and pulled me off my feet, to where I was pulled up again, by my hair. I managed to land a punch to his gut, but while I enjoyed the look of surprise on his face, the others grabbed me. I struggled to get loose, but only succeeding in getting my black hair tangled in one of my captors lip rings. I cocked my head, and it came out, along with a chunk of flesh.

As red-lip over there clutched at his face, the other one came to me, and raised his hand "Someone oughtta teach you how a _good _woman behaves!"

I flinched as his hand descended, closing my eyes. As I waited for the impact, a icy, oddly familiar hand laid, light as a feather, on my waist.

I opened my eyes.

Zero stood there holding the punk's hand, using his other to pull me closer to his side. I watched with amazement as Zero pushed his hand away, causing the punk to wobble. Who then retaliated by drunkenly saying "Hey, Dude, this is our chick!"

Normally, I would have snarled back that I was _nobody's _chick, but I was too tongue-tied by Zero's presence to say anything. Not to mention the fact that his arm was securely around my waist, holding me tightly to him.

I watched, speechless, as Zero stared them down. There expressions changed as soon as they saw that he wasn't going to back down. They smiled. One came up to Zero, and put out his hand for shaking. Zero stared at it, uninterested, reminding me so much of me on my first day at this school, that it was scary. The punk uncertainly withdrew his hand. "You look like a pretty cool guy, so I'm gonna let it slide this time. Just give us the chick, and we won't give you no trouble." he waited for zero to calmly hand me over.

Zero raised an eyebrow at him. The guy's expression darkened, as he looked at Zero, standing there calmly, his one hand in his pocket, the picture of ease. "Look, buddy, you do what I say!" the drunk said, launching a roundhouse kick at Zero. From there, everything seemed to go into super slow motion. Zero took his hand out of his pocket, and caught the guy's kick, flipping him upside down in the process. He then proceeded to drop him on his head. The punk lay on the ground, moaning. Zero looked from him, up to the others, as if asking them if he wanted to stand up to him. Apparently no one did, considering, in the next few seconds, all that was left off them was a puff of dust, and thier forms, still running, on the horizon.

Zero looked at me. "I'm okay." I told him.

Then I remembered something and blushed. He cocked his head. "Why are you blushing?" he bluntly asked.

"Oh! Um… I…well…" I began, than settled for looking from him, to his hand resting on my hip, back to him again. Surprisingly, he had managed to keep his hand on me the entire time. He sighed as he removed it, as if it caused him physical pain. He looked at me again. "You know, I worry about you." he said.

I blushed, refusing to meet his eyes. "Why would you say that?" I quietly asked.

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him. "Almost every time I see you, you're in some kind of trouble." he said, sighing.

He moved my chin so he could see my neck. I blushed even redder as he ran his hand down it, causing me to shiver. "You have a bruise here." he said while using one white finger to circle a considerably large spot on my neck. "And you have a cut right…"

Abruptly, I felt his whole aura change, and he clutched at his throat, leaning down closer to me. His mouth opened, and he pulled my hair aside. I could tell that this was no longer Zero, but someone, no _something,_ else. So, I wouldn't hurt his feelings if I pushed him, right? I closed my eyes as I did just that. He growled, a menacing sound, but I caught sight of Yuuki and Sayori coming out of the stadium, and tried to blend into the crowd.

They wanted to stop and get souvenirs, but I forced them into the car, telling them that I didn't feel well. When Yuuki and I were alone, she cornered me. "I know that you weren't alone outside, Bree." she said.

I thought for a moment, truth or… "Yes I was!" I said forcibly, trying to close the matter.

She looked unconvinced. "Tell me the truth, Bree." she commanded.

I decided to trust her, I mean, her and Zero were adopted brother and sister, right? "No, I wasn't alone." I admitted. "I was with Zero."

Her face lit up at the thought of her two closest friends getting together. I caught onto her train of thought at once. "N-no! it isn't like that at all!" I protested as she got a dreamy look on her face.

She looked at me. "_Sure it isn't. you just keep telling yourself that."_

_I sighed, knowing that this wasn't a fight that I was going to win. When they dropped me off at my apartment, both looked worried, taking in the guys conducting "business" at two in the morning. As I turned to leave, Yuuki grabbed my jacket. "Are you sure you don't want to have a sleepover?" she asked, eyeing my apartment. I sighed. "No, I'm fine." I said dismally as I headed to my little piece of hell. I walked up the steps, it seeming like forever before I got to my bed, with Yodel already lying in it, waiting for me. I quickly changed into my pyjamas, then snuggled in next to my golden retriever. Of course, then the other four dogs had to come lay with us, too._

_I said my goodnights, then turned off the lights._

_I was restless that night. The room that was usually so cozy and welcoming, seemed to be incredibly hollow and empty. It took me a while to identify the feeling, but I eventually got it. I was lonely. And the strange part was that I'd only ever started feeling that way since I've been with Zero._

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_Ok, I think this one turned out GREAT! I am really happy with it!_

_PLEASE REVIEW! I am not continuing until I get exactly FIVE reviews. So, if you want to read more soon, REVIEW! And this time, I mean it!_


	8. Dracula

Hihihihihihhi. I am super excited! I love writing, I love writing. Sorry if it isn't Lucy who is in the original Dracula. I couldn't find what her name was! I know that Bree is OOC, too, but she's just really crazy cause she's scared. Disclaimer: I don't own Arby's, or Vampire Knight or jabba the hut, or king tut.. I listened to angels losing sleep the entire time I wrote this, and now I have it stuck in my head. "it's the calm before the storm!" such a good song. Enjoy!

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_I was in a weird room, with walls and walls of pillows. I was running for some reason, and looking for something. The pillows began to fall on me. The downy filled my mouth, and I started choking. I'm dieing. I'm choking._

"AAH!" I woke with a strangely muffled scream. Instinctively, I tried to take a breath. But I only succeeded in getting something stuck in my throat. My hands flew to my face. There was something on it. What was it? I shoved the object away, and was rewarded with a whine. I opened my eyes, and began coughing. Tufts of golden hair came from my mouth. I looked at the thing that I'd just pushed. Yodel looked up at me with complete innocence. I sighed. "Yodel, must you always sleep on my face?"

I collected the rest of the fur, and got up. It was Sunday, I remembered. I usually spent these days eating fast food from the Arby's down the road, and lounging about wondering what it was like to be popular, and then making up situations in my head in which I was.

I was long overdue for some fun.

I raced Ratter, and the other dogs to the bathroom. I ran inside, and grabbed the door. "Haha, beat you guys again!" I said in a high pitched voice.

They sat patiently outside, waiting their turn, like always. I didn't know where I was going today, but my usual attire of dirty sweats, and tattered turtle neck just wouldn't do. I put on the nicest thing I owned (besides my school uniform) which was a pair of khaki pants, and a sweater advertising the bar downstairs. I walked past a TV guide on the counter. I didn't know why I had a TV guide, when I didn't even own a TV. But, at least I can go through and see all the things I could be watching. Stupid, cheap, idiotic apartment! I picked it up, and flipped it over the other side, which was a schedule for the all the movie theatres in town. I narrowed it down to the Upstream Authentically Classic Theatre. I ran my hand down the list of times that it was playing. When I found the only movie playing there, I burst out laughing. Dracula! Wow, I'm like so excited! Ya, right. I snorted again, trying to muffle the giggles. Okay, I know it wasn't that funny, but I felt strangely giddy. And, although I would never admit it to anyone else, I thought it might have had something to do with my new friends, and Mr. Personality, otherwise known as Zero. It wasn't hard to pick the movie, really. The only movie playing in the only theatre I could afford.

I had to catch the bus since I didn't own a vehicle, and let me tell you, it was _gross _on that seat. It smelt like something had died in it, and now that I thought about it, something just might have. I was going to have to give myself a scrub down with bleach after this. When we arrived at the theatre, an old looking red building, I jumped of as fast as I could, possibly hitting a few people in the process. When I finally got past all the complaining bus riders, I almost walked past the concession stand, before remembering the thing I loved the best about classic things. The prices! I ran over, pushing through a crowd of people. "What will you be having, Miss?" the pimpled teen behind the counter asked in a bored tone.

I felt like shouting everything, as I looked at the menu. It was fabulous! I finally didn't feel poor! If the choice was mine, I would probably live here! "Um… let's see… I'll have the hotdog, the popcorn, and a coke, please. All large." the guy raised his eyebrows.

Maybe I could pretend I was going to watch a movie tomorrow, and just come here for lunch! I stared hungrily as the teen began gathering my order. I saw some other girls I recognized from my class stare longingly at my food as I began eating. I looked down at their pitifully small diet sodas and fat free yogurt, and smiled evilly at them as I took another handful of popcorn.

When I got seated in the theatre, I passed the time waiting for the movie by looking at the people around me and giving them nicknames. Hmm… I thought, Baldie I dubbed a man sitting by the end of the row, whose head looked like he had an unfortunate run-in with a wolverine hair dresser. Pippy long stalking, flower power dude, king tut, jabba the hut, little miss rain cloud. I came across another set of girls from my school. I recognized one as Shauna. She seemed nice enough. She felt my gaze on her, and turned, taking in my greasy hair, and five dollar khakis. She then turned back to her friends, and they laughed. A fire kindled itself in my tummy. Okay, I officially hated her. My anger was quickly forgotten as the lights dimmed and the opening credits began.

About halfway through the movie, at the part where Dracula tries to bite Lucy, I felt a burst of déjà vu. Where had I seen this before? Suddenly, I felt Zero's freezing hands on my neck again, the pleasure of him touching me overshadowed by the sudden recognition. It all made sense now, his eyes, the cold, the blood, everything. My head was reeling. I didn't know what to do. It all seemed so surreal. I sat in a stunned silence for a while, before realizing I still had the power to make my legs move. I jumped up, took barely a second glance back at Shauna, who was staring at me, no doubt thinking how she can relay this little scene to everyone, and ran. Where was I running to? No clue. What was I going to do when I got there? No clue. How long was I going to run from things? Wait for it… No clue. I was really scared, and, I knew one person that I needed more than anything right now. Unfortunately, that one person was a vampire. It still scared me to say that name. somehow, it made everything real, like it was actually happening. Which, I guess, it was. But I still pinched myself just to make sure.

After about forty minutes of running, I collapsed at the headmaster's house. I allowed myself to rest for about three minutes, before I barged into his humbled home.

I tried knocking, but no one answered. So he was in with the vampires, eh? I mentally slapped myself. You've been reading way too many conspiracy books, Bree.

I tried kicking the door a couple of times. After hurting my toe _many _times, I decided to instead pick the lock using my bobby pin. Which was when I found out that the door was not locked. So, they think they've got nothing to hide, huh? But that's the ultimate sign of guiltiness. I hastily opened the door, to find the headmaster sitting at his too innocent table, with his untrustable chair beneath him. He blinked at me a couple times, coffee cup halfway to his mouth. He saw that it was me, and he broke into a grin. "Ah! Bree-Chan, Yuuki-Kun's new-"

"What kinda sick project are you running?" I interrupted him. I poked him in the chest with every word I said.

"Ah…What are you…Bree-Chan, are you feeling alright?" he asked with real concern. Ha! _concern!_

"Yes, because, you know, the pinnacle of happiness for me is finding out that I almost got bit by a freaking _vampire! _twice!" I snapped back at him.

I could tell I'd hit something important, because he put the cup down, closed his eyes, and walked over and locked the door. I stared at him in horror. "Are you one, too? Is that why you're locking me in! it is! I knew it! I said to Sayori, I said 'Don't trust that headmaster guy' but _no_ she didn't believe me, no, no, no, no, because no one believes Bree! She's just the girl that stumbled on to a world conspiracy!"

He let me ramble on for forever, just silently tapping his long white fingers against the table. By the time I stopped, and sat down, blushing, all the adrenaline had left, and I realized what a fool I'd been. I'd be lucky if he didn't ship me off to the funny farm right now!

When I was about to hastily apologise, he asked "Are you finished?"

I nodded, looking down. He sighed, nowhere as carefree as he usually was, and said "You've stumbled onto to something big, Bree."

My head snapped up. So I was right? No, impossible. But, Zero was a vampire! It didn't make any sense, but at the same time, it made perfect sense. I tortured myself with these circular conundrums for a while more, before realizing he was waiting for me to say something. I didn't know what to say. Suddenly, my tongue felt thick, and I was embarrassed. He let me mumble some unintelligible murmurs for a few moments, before finally sighing and deciding to cut me some slack. He rose from his seat and walked, with a subtlety I had never seen in him before, to my side. "I know how you must be feeling right now. It's a lot to take in, I know. But, hopefully the knowledge that you won't remember any of this tomorrow will comfort you."

My past fear and embarrassment long forgotten, I looked at him, my resolution set. "You're not going to make me lose my memory are you! That's theft!" I exclaimed in horror.

He looked a tad amused for a minute. "Theft?"

I was taken aback that he hadn't just taken my memory anyway. "Yes, theft of the mind!" I was willing to just keep going on, as long as he played along, I had more time to find ways to get out, memory intact. "I'm not gonna tell anyone!" I exclaimed.

He rubbed his temples. "That's what they all say. You don't mean it."

I looked him in the eye. I had made up my mind, and, once that's happened, there's no point in even _trying_ to change it. It's like an unmovable rock. "I'm not leaving without _all of my memories, chairman." I demanded, crossing my arms._

_I completely thought that saying this wasn't going to change anything, so I was more than a little surprised when he laughed, straightening up. "You remind me so much of Kiryuu-kun already. I hate to see what you're like when you two finally get together." he managed between chuckles._

_I blushed. now that he wasn't so serious, I felt more relaxed, like, let's say, I wasn't going to get my memory forcibly taken from me at any time. "What makes you think we're going to get together?" I asked in a small voice, looking down._

_He chuckled again, which made me feel even more safe (or was that part of his plan?). "Please, Bree. You two are perfect for each other. Both stubborn. I could never get him to do anything I wanted, either, so I don't expect that you'll be any different." he said kindly._

_I blushed a deeper crimson, barely able to get out the question I knew that I had to ask. "So, I can keep my memory?" I asked hopefully, holding my breath._

_It seemed like an eternity before his soft answer floated over to me. " Zero never told anyone, either."_

_I took that as a yes._


	9. READ BEFORE CH 6! Meet Emma

THIS IS CHAPTER SIX! IT DID NOT WORK RIGHT WHEN I TRIED TO POST IT! SORRY FOR ANY CONFUSION OR INCONVENIENCE!

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The thoughts ran through my head, and I am sad to say that I cannot speak them, due to the fact that most of them involved strong language. Zero leaned down closer to me and seemed to realize who I was, although I was too scared out of my mind to care. I shrunk back from him, trying to look as small as possible, which wasn't hard, considering that only my shoulders and head were sticking out from under the stairs. He quirked his eyebrow at me, quiet as always. He sighed and reached for me. I closed my eyes, expecting to feel pain, but instead gentle hands grasped my shoulders, pulling me slowly out of the hole in the stairs. I couldn't help noticing how icy his hands were, that's odd.

He gently set me down on the floor, as if I might break at any second, which right now I felt might happen. As his hands receded, I cracked my eyes open, and made a run for it. When I dared look back, I saw him calmly looking back at me. And when he met my eyes, I saw that his irises weren't that terrible crimson anymore, but a soft violet. But when I looked again he was gone. How did he get out that fast, I wondered to myself.

Oh, well, I just got hit over the head with a large metal object, I probably had brain damage, I was probably still sitting in that hole, dreaming all this up.

I walked back to my room, minding the stairs, and fell into bed with my clothes still on. Hopefully, tomorrow, things would make sense.

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When I got to school that morning, I noticed that Zero sat a couple of seats away from me. Strange, I never noticed that before, why now? Zero felt my gaze and turned to me, and I felt an icy chill run down my spine, remembering his freezing hands from the night before. But it was only out of coldness that I shivered, not out of fear. That's when I realized that I wasn't really scared of him anymore. Maybe because he had helped me out of my little…. Predicament last night. No, it was something more than that, I felt like… I wanted to be friends with him. Hmm… interesting.

My thoughts were interrupted by the teacher. "Everyone, listen!" he yelled while clapping, "We have a new student in our class today!" he said while gesturing to the half opened door. "Come on, Emma, no need to be afraid, now." he said softly as he pushed open the door. The first thing I saw was a little leg pop into the room, clad in bright purple tights. I had one more moment of confusion before the rest of her body came into view. It took me a minute to register what I was seeing. The girl in front of me looked to be about 11 or 12, but was very intelligent looking, you could just tell from the way her eyes gleamed. She had one of those old fashioned bead hippie headbands on, and a matching elastic holding up her long brunette hair (which reached to her waist) in a pony tail. Her shirt was some kind of hippiesh "save the rainforest" crap. Oh, and don't even get me _started_ on her skirt. It was bright red, _red_, with peace signs all over it. And what was even weirder, was she didn't seem to care that people were gawking at her like she was some kind of weird science project, she kinda seemed to _enjoy it, like, "ya, I know I'm different, isn't it wonderous?" ._

_Now, I don't mean to be mean, but after years of being emotionally bullied at the orphanage, I had trained myself to react to meeting new people this way. I catalogued what was weird about them, what I could use as ammo if they decided to start something. And, it just so happened that this girl had lots of weird things about her. Kind of like me._

_I didn't have much more time to think anything, though, as she boldly began introducing herself. "Hello, my name is Emma Wishart, and I have come to be in your class!" she stated, as if we should be blessed to be in her presence. _

"_Aren't you a little young?" yelled a guy from across the room, and she made a little "Humph" sound before crossing her arms over her chest and firmly taking a step into a more aggressive stance, making her ponytail bounce, "Do you want Violence, dude, 'cause I'll give it to you all night long if that's what you want! Come on, let's take this outside, see what you're made of, tough guy!" she snarled at him in a no nonsense voice._

_Said "Dude" rocked back on his heels, surprised, and I didn't blame him. Not exactly what you'd expect from a girl who was shorter than me (which is saying something). She was still fuming when the guy made a very unwise move. "Isn't it past your bedtime? Shouldn't you get some sleep so you can make it to kindergarten tomorrow! I hear their doing finger-painting, wouldn't want to miss that, now, would we?" he laughed as he slapped high fives with his buddies. _

_A cold smirk that kind of scared me stretched onto Emma's face, "Not smart." she growled, and then, before I could get back my bearings, she was up the steps, At his chair, right in his face. "Do you feel lucky, Bud?" she asked calmly. _

_The poor sap was frozen with fear, and I almost felt pity for him. But, at least now the rest of us would know not to say anything about her age. As the guy fell back, terror evident on his face, Emma withdrew. And as she worked down the steps, her ponytail bouncing with each step, just above a whisper, I heard her say "That's what I thought."_

_She took her place behind the teacher, and resumed her previous sweet smile. Scary. The teacher seemed to be at a lack of words, "Um, as y-you can s-see, Emma", he seemed to be almost scared to say her name, "is a gold medalist track runner. She is also a child prodigy, and with an IQ of 145,", people gasped, and he held his hand up until the chattering stopped "Like I was already saying, we are very lucky to have her, so be nice."_

_Emma walked up the steps, and promptly took her seat, which just happened to be next to me. I felt her looking at me, but decided instead of glaring at her, I would examine the hems of my shirt, which was when I realized, this school had a dress code. But I sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to tell her that._

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_FINISHED! I think I'm on some kind of writing high tonight! (is there such a thing as writing crack one can smoke to get ideas?) phew! Two chapters in one night, I'm on a roll. So, tell me what you thought of Emma. I think I did a pretty good job on the character introduction, captured her free spirit, but it's your opinion, as the reader, that counts. SO TELL ME!!!!!!! _


	10. Author's Note

Author's note:

There have been some complications in my chapter content. I would like to thank "Trouble For First Degree Hell" for alerting me to this problem. I am sorry for any inconvenience or confusion this may cause. Hopefully, new readers will be able to sort this out. It is kind of complicated. Chapter six is actually chapter seven, and chapter 9 is chapter six. I hope no other problems will occur. Please forgive me!

- Secretofserenity


	11. buffy the vampire slayer

Hiya guys! So, I just suddenly had an impulse to write. I just saw "marley and me" with my friends, and it was sooooo sad! I almost cried. As soon as I got home, I gave my lab Derby a big kiss. Hope you enjoy this next chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it. Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy the vampire slayer or vampire knight

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As I walked home from the headmasters that night, I was still a little dazed. This whole situation had taken on a dreamlike quality. I probably wouldn't believe this tomorrow. As I rounded the corner, it began to rain. Great, the weather now mirrored my emotions. Vampire. There was that word again, the one that kept popping into my life. Vampire. A dank chill crept down my spine, thinking of that. The fact that the whole world was unknowingly being watched by another species. I shivered. Suddenly all that "are we alone?" crap that everyone always feeds us didn't seem so ridiculous. My breath quickened. Was that a figure I just saw duck behind that building?! Was it me, or could I hear a second set of footsteps? Maybe the vampires weren't so cozy to the idea that I was being spared. I broke into a jog, quickly diminishing the space between me and my apartment.

I struggled with the doors for a moment, constantly checking behind me, and in what seemed like a century, was finally in my apartment. I hung off the door, catching my breath, and closed my eyes. Great, just one more thing to add to my long list of paranoia. _Was _any of this real? I was still freaked, but managed to calm myself down with the fact that Zero wouldn't let anything happen to me. He saved me once, he'd do it again, right? But, after he saved me, he _did _try to bite me. With a sigh of frustration, I began ascending the stairs.

I fumbled with my keys for a moment, trying to get the one to open my apartment door. I could hear my dogs whining from the inside. Room 218 AKA, my own personal hell. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" I told the dogs, "quit your damn yapping!"

I walked inside. You never know just how much you miss home until you've been gone for awhile. I sighed and changed into the boxers and T-shirt that were my pyjamas, then climbed into bed. I stared at the roof for a while, then got up. There was one more thing I needed to do. I grabbed the notepad lying on the nightstand, and began writing. I stuck it to the bedpost, then was quickly captured into an uneasy sleep.

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I woke with a start, I'd been tossing and turning all night with terrible nightmares of things covered in blood, fear, pain, but more importantly, I'd dreamed about _her, my mother. With all the excitement, I'd almost forgotten about her. I instantly felt immensely guilty. If it was vampires that took her away, why am I spending my time with them? Shouldn't I be like Buffy the vampire slayer? Avenging my mother's kidnapping?_

_I got up out of bed, reaching for the bedpost to help myself up. Something yellow fell from the post. I picked it up._

_To myself: It all really happened. It wasn't just a dream._

_Haha, that's funny, I couldn't even remember writing this. I must've really been zonked out. I shoved the note in my pocket, and pressed the snooze on my alarm clock. I was taking a mental health day. _

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_OMG!!! I know this chapter is short, but I've been really busy!!!! I'll try to make it longer next time, 'kay? God, only 625 words, that's an all time low for me. *So guilty*_


	12. A Home That is Mine

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't been updating much! I now realize that if I want to have all the plot that I want to have in this fic, I'd better start making the chapters HUGE! Which I undoubtedly know will result in many hours of sleep loss for me L.

I've also just unloaded ANOTHER two things into my day. I've decided to take part in a play, which will mean MORE memorizing on my part, and I've also taken up a volunteer job at the local SPCA! Don't hate me! Please!

And OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I want vampire knight DS game!!!!! Hehe, I'd probably end up with Aidou, Shiki, or Ichijou!

Also, I've gotten way in over my head. I'm literally buried in all of the fics I've decided to take on. But, please, if you're a fan of one of these animes, please check it out! Here they are:

Grimmjow and Number 11 (bleach)

Under the light of the moon (Maximum ride)

Must Be Something (bleach)

Of course there all ROMANCES/ACTION! Just the way I love them!

Disclaimer: if I owned vampire knight, or any of the ones listed above, why would I be wasting my time writing fan fiction?

PS: just a reminder. Bree calls the vampires (Other than Zero) the perfects!

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I rolled out of bed, feeling strangely energized. Yawning, I reached for my clock. I felt a moment of shock at the time, before realizing it was, indeed, the weekend. I laid back in bed relishing the familiar smell of my blanket, that I'd had since I was five. I took comfort in the fact that, although everything around me was changing right now, something was the same as it was at the start of this hectic nightmare.

After a minute more of blissful silence, I reluctantly pulled the covers off, and stretched. It was always so difficult to wake in the mornings. More difficult still, though, to see that I was still living in this fixer-upper's nightmare.

At least I had my dogs. That seemed to be the only positive thing I could think to say these days… what a depressing thought.

I could hear a commotion downstairs, probably those early rising drunks, and decided to go check it out. I mean, like, what else am I going to do?

Pulling on my newly acquired robe, I made my way past the kitchen, tying my dark hair up in a bun as I did so. I briefly glared at the useless stove as I passed. I hadn't approached it ever since the little fridge-almost-running-me-over fiasco.

Carefully, I began descending the stairs, trying to avoid the rotten, discoloured wood. The voices started again, and this time I could hear them clearly enough to recognize a familiar one mixed in with the others. Snapping my head up, I saw that Zero was standing there, along with two of the perfects. Quickly I returned my gaze to the wood, making my way down with more caution than was probably required.

With each step I took, the voices began to clear, so I could make out the words. The were whispering, but sounded like they were arguing. The kind of things adults do when they're mad, but don't want anyone to know.

"…Shouldn't be here…" Kaname was saying, directing it at Zero. He also said some other things, more quietly, though, that I couldn't make out.

"…_your_ fault…should've never…" Zero's voice floated gently over to me.

"He's… Brother…"

"No brother of mine…"

"You've… spending too much… with _her_."

I strained to hear more of the conversation, leaning further over the rail, while still trying to remain inconspicuous. But, of course, fate had it's own wishes for me. Unfortunately, fate's plans for me at the moment, were definitely something I wanted to avoid. I saw the rail give out before I heard it. Then, for the second time that week, I was freefalling. I had time to think _'why me? Why is it _always_ me?'_ before I fell, ungracefully, into Zero's waiting arms.

I sheepishly smiled up at him, frantically trying to fabricate a lie in my head. But I knew that I wasn't going to be able to keep a train of thought going as long as his hands were on me.

Zero sighed, setting me on my feet. He had to bend down a lot to be able to put me down, and only now did I realize the gap in our height. I tried futilely to slow the beat of my heart, resting a hand above it. I could feel heat rushing into my face, and I brought my other hand up to conceal the red. Then abruptly I remembered that we were not the only two people alive, and that we currently had two vampires staring holes in my back. I reluctantly pulled my gaze from Zero so I could see just how mad Kaname was at me. But, of course, Mr. I'm-such-the-perfect-gentleman was smiling back at me. Aido, on the other hand, looked far more grumpy. Only now did I remember what he reminded me of. Like a child that had had it's toy removed from it. I decided to halt our unofficial staring contest, and brought my gaze once again to the ever composed Kaname. He was still smiling, but in a different way that I couldn't quite pinpoint the name for at Zero.

"Well, hello Bree-Senpai. How are you? That was quite the nasty fall." he said kindly.

"Um… yes, I suppose it was." I said, flustered. _just let this moment end…_ I thought hopefully.

"Well, you must be pretty disoriented. Am I correct?"

At this point, anything past a nod was beyond me.

"I see. We can hardly leave you alone in this condition. Kiryuu-Kun, why don't you walk Bree-senpai back to her room?" he said, gesturing to me.

At this point, I realized Kaname was teasing zero. But, about what? I wondered vaguely, as I watched the tension filled glares pass between the two.

"Of course." Zero said in that gushy-over-emotional way of his. (A/N: LOL!)

He then proceeded to _put his arm around my waist_ and guide me towards the stairs, all the while never taking his eyes off Kaname.

It was then that I knew that Zero's strangely forward actions just now had more than one thing to do with Kaname.

As soon as we were out of sight and earshot, Zero dropped his arm. Sighing at the loss of touch, I stole a glance at him. He didn't look tense anymore, just quiet, thoughtful. "Um… Zero?" this seemed to break him out of his reverie, and although he didn't look at me, I could tell he was giving me permission to continue. "I was just wondering… that is… why are you here?"

Zero stopped walking. "If you want me to leave all you have to do is ask." he said, already starting to turn.

I grabbed his arm. "Ah! No! that's not what I meant."

Much to my relief, he began walking again. "Then what did you mean, Bree-kun?"

This time it was I who halted. "What? -kun? What's with the suffix?"

He pulled me along like I had done to him just moments before. "I can stop calling you it, if you want."

I shook my head feverishly. "NO, that's not what I meant, either."

"That's getting to be quite a nasty habit, huh?"

"What?"

"Saying things you don't mean."

"Oh, be quiet. I've never had a way with words. With people."

By now we'd reached my floor, and I just now realized that we were walking towards my door. He paused, waiting for me to get my keys out. "Oh really? You seemed like the kind of person who'd get along with everyone. Kind of like Yuuki."

"Would you not compare me to Yuuki, please!" I said a little more sharply than I'd wanted to, instantly regretting it. I'd given too much away.

"What?" Zero asked, obviously surprised by my reaction. He'd been saying I was a likable person and I'd snapped at him. Trying to let this little scenario just become water under the bridge, I stepped inside and gestured wordlessly to the nightmare that was my home. He stared at me for awhile, until with a groan, I dropped my arm. "Are you coming in, or not?"

After a moment of deliberation, he stepped inside. As he inspected my termite infested countertop, I closed and locked the door. "Pups! Come on, food time!" I cupped my hands as I called, smiling when my furry family came running from my bedroom. "yodel, you better not have been sleeping on my pillow again!" I scolded as I spotted and removed a piece of downy from behind his ear. "What is this, mister?" I asked, holding the feather above him. Yodel took that as his queue to run away. I sighed, realizing that I'd have to do laundry at the cleaner's again tonight. Then I got the prickly sensation of someone staring at me. "What is it?" I asked Zero, suddenly feeling naked.

"I just noticed, you seem to sigh a lot."

I straightened up, bringing out a fist to emphasize my point. "I do not!" (Recap of the last ten minutes: _sigh,_ SIGH, **sigh, **sigh, sigh)

"Do to."

"Arrr!" (A/N: Hehe she sounds like a pirate! Lol!) I swung a fist at him, which was useless, mostly because I was too small and also because he put a hand on my forehead, pushing me back.

"I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true, Shrimp." he said, clearly amused.

"Look, just because you're like a colossal giant, doesn't mean that you should get to rub it in everyone's faces!" I said, trying to no avail to push his hand, which had now slipped to my shoulder, away.

He chortled, ruffling my hair before removing his touch. As I worked on smoothing the damage he had dealt on my hair. The dogs had just finished eating, and were now lounging on the molded carpet. After deciding that my hair was presentable, I found zero standing in the kitchen, inspecting the empty packs of instant microwave curry that I had lived on for the past few weeks. I smiled sheepishly. "What? It's kinda tasty. Don't judge me."

Zero looked like he was about to say something, then decided against it. "Zero? why _are_ you here?"

He gave me a look that I knew meant "Bree-kun, I thought we've already been through this."

"Allow me to rephrase the question," I began sarcastically, wondering why I was always so open with him, so utterly myself. "Zero, why are you at the apartment? What was your initial reason? There, is that specific enough for you?"

He ignored my last comment, focusing on the actual question. "Relatives."

"Are they staying here in the apartments?"

"Him, just one. And yes he is staying here."

I contemplated that, thinking of all the people I'd seen, and then wondering if I'd seen Zero's said relative.

"What is he? Cousin, uncle?" I tried, playing with the ends of my hair. Why was I being so girly all of the sudden?

Zero shook his finger at me. I tried not to, truly I did, but I couldn't help but notice the way his hair partially concealed one perfectly violet orb when he tilted his head. "Uh-uh. You already got to ask your question, now it's my turn."

After a couple of moments, I quickly gave in. "Fire away…" I gestured for him to continue, my head hanging in defeat.

He hesitated, and I looked up at him, expectant. "Bree-kun… why did you say that you never had a way with people?"

I couldn't help it. When Zero looked up, he found me laughing, laying on my back on the couch I had fallen onto. "You've gotta be kidding!" I said, wiping a tear from underneath my eye. "Have you _seen_ the way I behave at school? The only social contact I've had in weeks has been talking to you, Yori, Yuuki, and Emma. Well, that and the odd call to order sushi." I huffed, trying to catch my breath. "god, it's been a while since I've laughed like that. I'd reckon about twelve years."

As soon as I said the word 'twelve', Zero looked away guiltily, like he knew something that I didn't know he did. I sat up, trying to see his eyes, hiding beneath the ivory hair.

"What is it?"

"Nothing. So, do you like curry?"

I blinked at the random un-Zero-like comment. Did it seem like he was trying to change the subject, or what?

"Zero, I want you to look at me and tell me. Now" I demanded, steely expression in place.

Then, he slowly turned his gaze back towards me, almost sadly. Then, I was once again free to search the for once unguarded violet pools. It suddenly hit me that the unrecognizable emotion in his eyes was indeed pity.

This scared me even more. Had I given something away? I anxiously thought back to my explanation, searching for something that may have revealed part of my past. Having come up with nothing, I decided to just let it go.

"So, Zero. How long have you lived here?"

He seemed partially relieved that I was no longer questioning, he also sat. "My life before coming here no longer matters."

Wow, that was powerful.

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while. _damn,_ I started wondering to myself. _why is he always just so easy for me to be around. I never feel pressured to be something else with him._

"Would you like me to show you around the rest of my humbled abode?" I said, not bothering to mention that there was only one room he hadn't yet seen.

Zero stood. "I guess there's nothing better to do around here. What do you do for fun, Shrimp?"

While I was fuming over the adoption of the nickname, he was already started down the hall, and towards my bedroom. I ran ahead of him, and faced him.. "Would you stop calling me Shrimp? What happened to Bree-kun?"

He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I see. So, you did enjoy me calling you Bree-kun."

"Oh, I well…um…" I began, flustered.

Obviously loving the effect he had on me, he pushed me aside and headed into my room.

After a moment of hesitation, I followed him. Jumping on my mattress, I gestured around the room. "It's not much, but it's home. Wait, that's not right. It's the closest thing to a home I can get. There, that's better."

I could see his eyes linger on the mold filled wall (I had tried to scrape it off, but had ended up scratching the finish off the walls. Cost me forty damn bucks.), but tried not to feel self conscious. Then, he pointed to a fur ball on the floor. "Is…that a rat?" he asked, a mix of disgust and nonbelief.

I looked to the rodent, casually grabbing Ratter's bone off of the bed. "Oh, ya. That one. He comes around from time to time." I flung the bone at him. "Oi! You! Get outta here!"

The rat stopped to rip a piece of meat off the bone I had thrown, before scuttling into a hole in the wall.

"Damn useless apartment staff…. There, problem solved." I said, looking over to find Zero holding my schoolbag. He then opened my one solitary drawer, and began dumping my miniscule amount of belongings into it. I slid off the bed. "H…hey! What are you doing!?"

"You're not going to live here anymore." he replied simply, without looking at me.

He straightened up, holding a piece of red fabric in his hand. My face flushed when I realized what it was that he was currently dangling from in between his thumb and forefinger like it was acid. "Hey! Give that to me!" I snapped, snatching the red lace bra from him, and holding it behind my back.

"If I don't live here, were am I going to go?" I snapped, still flushed from the bra incident. I took a few breaths to calm myself.

"With me." Great, I had just managed to stop blushing, and here he was dropping another bomb on me. If I didn't stop blushing all the time, I was certain to always be red as a tomato.

Seeing my reaction, he rolled his eyes. "I mean with me, _and_ chairman Cross, and Yuuki."

So, Yuuki lived with him, too? Oh, well. At least I liked her. Someone probably told me that before. I couldn't remember. This, children, is what happens when someone has just a little too much stress in their everyday life.

"Are you sure that's okay?" I asked, massaging my temples. I was acting nonchalant, but, inside, I was freaking out with happiness. A home! A home! It had been twelve years since I'd been able to say that word, and know I have one.

Zero walked past me, carrying my back pack, which I immediately grabbed from him, muttering that I was strong enough to carry my own belongings, little as they may be. "Regardless," Zero muttered, walking by me, "You shouldn't be living here."

………………………………............................................................................................................................

I sat on _my_ new bed, using _my_ new pen to fill out the form that chairman Cross had given me. Did I mention that I was in _my_ new room? I tapped the fountain pen against the clipboard, going over the past hour in my mind, for at least the fortieth time.

_I had just entered the Cross household, along with Zero. I stepped behind him to escape the glances of Kaname, Yuuki, and Chairman Cross, all of whom were currently seated at the dinner table, apparently we had come right in the middle of what appeared to be a meeting._

_For once, I was glad that I was small enough to fit behind Zero, and be completely covered. Let him endure Kaname's dagger glare. This was his idea in the first place._

_I knew this would never work. I was stupid to get my hopes up. No one wanted a useless orphan, and her dogs I squeezed my eyes shut._

_Stupid Zero, why did he bring me here? I worked quickly to prepare myself to be back out on the streets. My dogs were waiting outside with my stuff. Besides, even if they somehow DID manage to let me stay, I dunno, in the garage or something, they wouldn't let Ratter, Ti, Mose, Yodel, and Teddy. Who would willingly take in Orphan girl, and her amazing Poodle, Chihuahua, two Great Danes, and Golden Retriever? _

_Maybe I could stay at the soup kitchen the first few nights. _

"_Bree-Chan? Bree-Chan?" I know realized the chairman had been calling my name for the last few minutes. I looked up to see him leaning forward, waving his hand in front of my face. _

"_Bree-Chan, are you okay? Gee, Zero, what did you do to the poor girl?" he asked accusingly, staring at Zero._

"_Nothing!" Zero replied, irritated. _

_Suddenly, I felt like a street cat that some little girl had found on the streets, bringing it home to beg her parents to let her keep it._

"_Um… Chairman Cross-San, I… need-" I began_

"_No need." Chairman replied, looking mischievously at Zero. "You want her to stay here, right?" _

_Zero nodded seriously, and they shared a knowing glance, that made me feel like I was missing something._

"_Agreed. It would be in best interest for all of us if Bree-Chan were to temporarily live here." _

_I swear I almost fainted. And, just like that, the street cat and her dogs were brought into the Cross household. _

_I was still dazed as Yuuki and Zero left to collect my bags and family, and Chairman Cross led me down the hall. He stopped at a small, grainy, wood door. I allowed my fingers to trail along it in amazement. Then, I turned the knob, and the door opened. Seeing that I was too shocked to do anything, the Chairman reached across me, and flipped the light switch. And then, my world lit. The room was cozy, slightly crowded, and painted stark white. _

"_And, this is your room." the Chairman said, as I ran my fingers along the downy comforter._

_And just like that. Those four words righted every wrong that had ever happened in my life, and made everything so perfect, I felt like I was going to start crying._

_For the first time in twelve years, I belonged, I was wanted, and I felt like I could smile. Not for anyone. I could smile for _me.

I found myself smiling yet again as I scribbled down the answers to the questions on the form Chairman cross had given me. I was to be a prefect, along with Yuuki and Zero. I happily patted my for once full stomach. It took all of my self-restraint not to lick the plate clean.

Next question. _Your blood type is: (Circle answer)_

I Grimaced. I hope this isn't a joke from the local vamps. As usual, my type wasn't there. The only reason I remembered is because it was the only special thing about me. I have a very rare blood type. Suddenly, I wondered what my blood would taste like, compared to others. Shaking my head to get rid of the retarded wonder, I wrote in my scrawled handwriting, "AB positive" next to the answers.

Next question: _Kin (Circle answer)_

I scanned the answers. _A. Human_

_B. Vampire_

_C. Other_

Other??? What was that? Werewolf? To be honest, at this point, it wouldn't surprise me. I circled "A".

Next question: _Previous experience/training? (Circle answer)_

_A. Yes_

_B. No_

Hmmm… would almost getting bitten by a vamp be considered "Experience"?

I debated, and circled "Yes" anyway.

I looked up from the form when I heard a knocking at the door. "Come in!" I called, pulling the sheets up around me.

The door opened, and outside it, was Yuuki, clad in her pyjamas. I smiled. "Hi."

She smiled, too. "Hi."

I pushed the form to the other side of the bed, patting the spot next to me. Her hand landed pretty close to me when she sat, and I couldn't help but compare us again. My alabaster skin looked even paler next to hers, and it's not like she was even tanned to begin with. That must make me, like, transparent or something, right?

"So, What do you want?" I asked, reminding myself that it wasn't Yuuki's fault that she was so much prettier than me, and that she was also very kind, and my friend. One of my only friends.

"Well, I'm just happy that you're here and happy, and that Zero is happy, too." she said, patting my hand.

"Thanks, Yuuki. But how can you tell that Zero's happy? He always looks the same to me." I said, sighing.

She leaned closer, whispering now. "That's because he's _always_ happy whenever he's near you. He never looks any different to you, because he's always happy with you."

I looked down, blushing furiously. "If that's his happy, than I'd hate to see what he looks like when he's depressed." I stated.

She put her arm around me, and leaned the side of her head against mine. It was just so natural, like two sisters. "Thank you, Bree, for making him happy. Thank you very much."

I fiddled with my thumbs. "I doubt I did that much. I don't think he cares that much what happens to me." _because he'd rather have _you.

Suddenly Yuuki's arm was removed, and I opened my eyes to see her staring at me seriously. "Do you know why he wanted you out of that apartment?" she asked severely.

"Because of the rat infestation? The mold? How about the rotten wood?" I guessed.

She shook her head. "His brother is staying there. This is strictly prefects/vampire business. Now that you're a prefect, I can tell you the whole story. Ichiru Kiryuu is currently dappling in the business of taking over the human race, along with "the Vampires' Association to stop the Madness." or "VAM"

"VAM believes that it is impossible to have humans as anything but food. To them, we are blood, and only blood. They want the school to be shut down. They don't want to have a bridge between the two species.

"This school is the last chance for humans and vampires to live together in peace. If we do not succeed in joining a vampire and human together, the world will inevitably become a bloodbath. Literally."

I couldn't stop a chill from running up my spine. VMA, why does that sound so familiar?

"My dream is to become the bridge that will lead us to peace. In order to do so, I must marry Kaname. The VMA will do anything to keep that from happening. For anyone taking place in a vampire-human relationship, the penalty is death, they say. I'm willing to take that chance in order to be with Kaname. Are you? Because every second that Zero spends alone with you, that's the chance he's taking. That risk is the price he's paying in order to spend time with you. Think about that, would you?"

With that, Yuuki said her goodnights, and I flipped the light off.

_Oh, like I'm going to think about anything else, now!_


	13. Rememberance

Hey guys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, how are you enjoying the fic so far? Please, TELL ME!!! Because if I'm to continue this fic, I need FEEDBACK! Please? Do you think I'm making Yuuki too vain? I'm trying not to, I swear!

And so, just like that, it is EASTER BREAK! Hurrah for being lazy! Isn't it awesome when you have nothing to do, and all day to do it? Ahhhhh, I can feel the stress dissipating at an alarming rate…

On an even happier note, yesterday I reread the first chapters of _Scarlet Dreams_ and I'm glad to report that I think I've gotten much better! Just goes to show that practice makes perfect!

But, alas, homework still haunts me even here, on vacation… T^T DAMN YOU FRENCH!!!!!

Does Yuuki call Kaname senpai, or sama? I forget…

I'm also very happy to tell you, that as I write this, I am sitting very happily on a bed, while eating chocolate rice krispies, at a prestige hot springs spa in lovely British Columbia. Easter break, how I love thee…

WARNING: spoiler to Inkheart series. Last thing, I swear. I've just recently finished the last book in the Inkheart trilogy. All I have to say is this: How could you end it like that, Cornelia Funke (author)???

Last sentence of book: Farid still had the most beautiful eyes of any boy she'd seen, but she'd found someone else who made her heart beat so much faster. THE END! Me: NUOOOO! I read three 600 page books for THIS???

……………………………….....................................................................................................................

I opened my eyes, quickly sitting up, before sinking back down due to head rush. I remembered now: this _was_ my room. I rolled onto my side as sleep quickly took me captive again. In my dream, my mother was holding me. I was happy, the rare emotion that I usually felt only on the days before the orphanage. There was also a man. He seemed familiar, but foreign at the same time. In my dream, the features of his face were lost, but the warmth and love I felt from him as he leaned in to hug me, along with a ponytail of long, sandy blonde hair, still remained. But then, all too quickly, the dream was being ripped from me. Although I tried, with every fibre of my being, it slipped through my fingers like fine grains of sand.

Then I realized it was actually the covers that were being ripped from me. I curled up. "No, no. good dream!" I muttered, half-coherent.

"Get up, get up, get up!" Yuuki was saying, almost to herself.

I snuggled closer to the blankets. First good dream in god knows when, and it has to be interrupted. The warm feelings were a leap and a step from what I usually dreamt of. Gladly, the darkness and pain that came with dreaming about the monsters took no part in my slumber today.

Then Yuuki, small as she was, grabbed onto my ankles and started pulling. I had been hanging onto the bed post, but then my sweaty hands loosened their grip, causing me to be pulled of the bed, and Yuuki to go falling back into thin air.

I closed my eyes (already planning my apology), expecting a loud crash, but getting none. Peering out from beneath my clasped hands, I saw Yuuki in the arms of Kaname. She was gaping, staring up at him. "K…Kaname-Sama!" she breathed.

I frowned. It wasn't that I was upset that she hadn't actually fallen (I was very happy about that), but just the fact that he always seemed to know when Yuuki was in trouble. That would mean he'd have to be watching her an awful lot, and since Yuuki spends the majority of her time with me, hence I'm also being watched. It gave me shivers up my spine. My privacy was the only thing I had, minus the bed. I couldn't allow it to be taken away, too.

By the time I'd thought all this through, he'd already set Yuuki back on the ground, smiled at me, and left my room.

"Why is-" I began, trying not to come off as livid as I felt.

"Kaname is here to help with the training. If you're going to be a prefect, you have to understand everything about the night class." she answered, cutting me off.

The more defensive side of me longed to cry out 'what if I don't want to be one?' but I bit down on my lip. _this is your friend,_ I reminded myself, _you don't have to be guarded around her._

Yuuki, seeing that I was no longer paying attention, grabbed my arm and pulled me up. "Come on, Come on, Come on!" she said cheerfully, back to her old self.

Sighing, I picked up my pile of clothing, which had been since dry cleaned, and made my way to the bathroom.

While I was changing, without even thinking about it, I began to think about my Mom again. I'd been doing that a lot lately. Way more than usual. When she'd died, I'd tried very hard to not think about her, talk about her, and stay as far away from the place it happened as possible. Without even knowing it, I'd been subconsciously shutting myself off from the world, from anything that would remind me of her. I remembered standing by her grave (A stick in the ground I had put there for her) as a child, sick and tired of crying. I'd put my hands out in front of me, like I was holding an open book. Then, I'd slammed my hands together before walking away. Closing that chapter of my life. The last few days spent here had reopened that wound. Right now, I was just avoiding having to talk about any of it. When I'd abandoned my last name, I'd really been abandoning the only thing I had left of her, all the hurt and misery going with it. Now, I was just me. Just Bree. Just trying to get by, Like it was with Mom and me in the days before the incident. So much easier not to feel anything.

I was now finished changing, and could feel the tears at the side of my eyes longing to flow. I pulled my sweater over my hand, using it to wipe my eyes. It was a good thing I didn't wear makeup. I used my other hand to turn off the light, before feeling my way to the bathtub edge, sitting on it, and curling up into something resembling the fetal position. I could feel the tears falling, but I didn't make a sound.

I like the dark. It's inviting, easy. It can pull you into it's clutches in a second, effectively breaking you away from the world, from your emotions. You're just numb. Numbness is a good thing, too. Emotions are hard. Too hard for me to deal with sometimes. That's why the darkness is easy. Nothing to deal with, just you, and the colour black.

I didn't know how long I was in there, but when I felt ready to turn on the lights, and return to the world around me, it seemed like not much had changed. the chairman was still on the phone, babbling about his new 'daughter' and Yuuki was still trying to comb through the knots in her hair. But the first thing I noticed was that Zero was still absent.

I tapped Yuuki on the arm and she nodded, showing that she knew I was there. "Where's Zero?" I asked, trying not to blush. Yuuki smiled at my expression, her eyes still not believing that we were 'just friends'

With that thought, it brought up a question of my own. What was he to me? We were definitely just friends, but at times it seemed so much more complicated.

My thoughts were interrupted by Yuuki. "He's out with his Sensei. Don't worry, he won't be gone long." she added as an afterthought.

I sighed, catching myself in the process. Zero was so right. I did sigh way too much. I made a mental note to try to keep it down to a minimum.

I plopped down in the chair across from Yuuki, eyeing her hair as she brushed it. It looked so shiny, and bright, and elegant, and everything mine wasn't. I returned my gaze to the dull black of my hair, in it's usual low ponytail. It used to be so much more interesting. When I was little, it almost used to look purple in the sunlight. Now, it hardly shined at all, courtesy of my choice to buy food instead of hair care products, since I could only afford one. But, back then it didn't seem to matter. Why did it now? Why was so much changing? Everything seemed so different now. Like I hardly know myself. Resisting the urge to walk over and compare my and Yuuki's hair some more, I began biting my nail, yet another new thing I'd developed while staying here.

Yuuki, finally happy with the state of the now non-existent tangles, grabbed my hand and pulled me up. We were both in our school uniforms, since we were supposed to be in class by now, but the chairman had let us skip the first classes today for my orientation.

"Kaname's meeting us at the night class gate." she told me, pulling me along out the door.

When we were almost at the gate, we could see Kaname apparently scolding Aidou. He was rubbing his cheek, were I imagine Kaname hit him. "Uh oh. Looks like Aidou tried to bite someone again." Yuuki said disapprovingly, before all but dragging me towards them.

When she skidded to a stop behind Kaname, I almost flew forward. He had a girl cowering behind him, and I recognized her as the blonde that I had seen in the theatre that one night, that seemed as if it was in another life. "Ah, hello Yuuki, Bree." he said almost sheepishly, but as you know, Kaname never loses his cool.

"Has she been bitten?" Yuuki asked, gesturing to Blondie.

"Thankfully, I got here in time." Kaname answered, looking scornfully at the ever defiant Aidou. "Apparently he mistook her for another day class girl, or at least that's his story."

Aidou made a low growling sound. "I told you! I thought she was Emma! She had a cut on her arm! It wasn't my fault!" he finished strongly, crossing his arms like a child who knew that he'd done wrong.

It took a while for his words to set in. I hadn't seen Emma for a while. It seemed like she and I lived in a different world now.

"Wait!" I started, interrupting Kaname. "How do you know Emma?"

He blushed, not unusual for him, but still enough to raise suspicion in me. "I don't know her…that much."

"What does 'that much' mean?" I almost snarled, my maternal feelings for the twelve year old coming out. Wait, she wouldn't still be twelve, would she? I counted the days in my head. Just as I thought. I'd missed her birthday. She would now be considered a teenager. Thirteen years.

"Well… I… what I mean is…" Aidou began, but cracked under the omniscient eye of Kaname. He fell on his knees, as melodramatic as always. "I'm sorry, Kaname-Sama! It was only once or twice, I swear! She doesn't know anything, really! Please don't erase her memory or kill her!" he finished lamely, then seemed to realize what he was doing, before trying to regain his dignity. He stood up. "What I mean to say is: would you please consider keeping her memory intact?"

"I will deal with you later, Aidou." Kaname said menacingly, before returning his eyes to the girl still cowering behind him. "Right now, we should probably deal with this one."

He put his hand over her eyes, and she flinched, shaking. Suddenly, I felt a wave of déjà vu. A different man behind the blonde, and me in her place. I blinked, and the image was gone, back to Kaname and Blondie.

Then, there was a flash of pink light, and she dropped. The déjà vu was back. Stronger this time, strong enough to make me nauseous. Then I got dizzy, and it felt like I was underwater, because I couldn't hear what anyone was saying. I saw Mom in my head, she was yelling to me, and when I tried to reach out to her, I was yanked back. Then, someone's hand came over my eyes, blocking Mom from my vision. Then I heard her scream, a flash of light, and then I was back, standing in front of the night class gate again. For a second, I felt okay. Then, as the vision of my mom danced across my eyes again, I saw black dots in my vision. At first, they only skipped along the edges, then they came closer and closer, until they didn't seem like dots at all. They looked more like darks hands, reaching across to grab me, and then my knees were weak, and I could feel myself falling. I blurrily saw Yuuki running to me, before the hands pulled me completely under into unconsciousness.

Then I heard my Mother's scream again. "Bree!"

………………………………............................................................................................................................

_I was in a room, with my Mom. She was still screaming, and the man was still standing behind me. But this time the memory wasn't as choppy, and it felt more like I was floating above it, watching the scene like a movie, rather than in it. I could make out things in the shadows, and this time the dark didn't seem safe and inviting like it usually did. It seemed scary, and carried with it hundreds of pairs of red eyes. The me in the memory was younger, and I was wearing the same ragged coat as the day when they came to take my Mom. _

_So there was a part before the orphanage found me in the snow! The realization brought me back to reality, and I glimpsed Yuuki's worried face before I was brought back to the memory._

_Now, the me in the memory had had her memory erased, and she was limp over the man's arm. Then, the monsters began slinking out of the shadows. I realized with a start, that they were vampires. But, they weren't nearly as beautiful as Zero or any of the night class. Could these really be vampires?_

_My question was answered when one of the uglier ones bared their teeth. My Mom snarled, surprising me. She looked feral. Not like the person I knew, who used to put band aids on skinned knees, make supper, give hugs. _

_Then, with a speed only vampires could possess, they closed in on her. She shouted a scream of pain, before one knocked her out by hitting the back of her head. Then, she folded over herself onto the ground. I thought I could see crimson starting to leak out from her beautiful dark brown hair. _

"_Mom!" I screamed, but she couldn't hear me. I struggled to move down from the air to her, to do anything to help her. "Mom!" I yelled again, then the scene began dissipating, and I felt like I had been shot. I touched my aching forehead, but there was no blood. Maybe it hit me in the chest? I thought. But looking down, I saw no expanding crimson flowers._

My eyes blurred open, and I saw people crowded around me, but where was I? my eyes were too blurry to see anything, and I realized it was because of tears. I felt a blanket under my hand, and I recognized it as mine. I must be at home. That thought startled me. When had I started thinking of this place as home?

My eyes got less and less blurry, and eventually I could see Yuuki, tears in her eyes. I had a huge headache. "Bree! I thought you were dead! You suddenly just dropped! I was so scared…"

I smiled dopily. "Don't worry about me."

Yuuki snatched my hand up. "Something happened. You had some kind of reaction to the memory wipe. Do you know anything you didn't before?"

Yes, yes I did. The sound of Mom's scream as she fell forward still seemed as real to me as Yuuki's hand in mine. I didn't feel like revealing any of this, though. Not yet, anyways. Something in my gut told me to stay quiet. "No."

She looked confused. "Really? Kaname was sure that was what happened."

I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I'm absolutely fine."

Then, the door opened, and Kaname walked in. Suddenly I was frozen in place, and broke into a cold sweat. My mind thought _This is Kaname, no need to be afraid._ but, my body remembered the feral eyes of the monsters as they closed in on my Mom.

Suddenly, I was pressed back against the wall, shaking like the blonde girl had been. My mind still seemed dopey for some reason, and hadn't caught up to what my body had just done, almost like a knee jerk reaction.

Also against my will, I was talking. "No! stay away! Stay away!"

Yuuki was reaching out, trying to find somewhere safe to touch me, where I wouldn't freak. Kaname was already gone, and then I was limp again. "Bree! What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, glancing frantically between me, and the door Kaname had disappeared behind.

"I… I don't know." I answered, partially telling the truth. Kaname never did anything to Mom, he wasn't there in the memory. Why should I be scared of him?

Yuuki was still biting her lip, obviously thinking of a way to help. "It's…it's nothing." I lied. "I'm just really tired, I'll be fine tomorrow!" more lies.

"You sure?" still biting her lip.

"Absolutely." stop lying, dammit!

She hesitated a moment, and I wondered if she saw through my lies. But then she was standing, hugging me, and I was hugging her back.

"Just be okay, Bree." with that odd comment, she left. As the door swung shut, I caught a glance of Kaname waiting outside. My muscles seized up again. What was with me?

I worked on calming my speeding heart. It took a while. I waited as the lights outside my door one by one shut off. Darkness again. Inviting.

I was finally able to close my eyes. Only to snap them open again, when I saw my Mom's tear filled face as she looked at me. "Bree!"

I rolled over to my side, gripping the covers. The movement jolted my head, and the aching started up again, with a newfound vengeance. I clutched at my head.

I lay looking at the roof. _Please God. I know I've never been very religious. I'd rather solve my own problems. But, for the first time in my life, I need your help. Please just help me forget what I saw. Please. I need this. I need this! I don't really know how this works… do I… leave my name or something? Well, anyways, please help. - Bree_

I took a deep breath, and closed my eyes again. I thought it worked, for a second. I was half asleep, when I saw two glowing red eyes. "Bree!"

I felt like crying. No more…. Please, no more. Then, I risked sitting up. It felt like there was something else in the room with me, and for a second, I thought I could see red eyes in the corner. Then, I felt like my Mom was there, the crimson still bright in her hair. "Bree!"

I slammed my hands over my ears, tears forming. But, the voice wasn't something that could be blocked by physical objects. It forced it's way into my mind, even then. "Bree!"

I couldn't take anymore. I kept looking up at the roof, just thinking about how much my life sucked, then scolded myself for being such a pessimist. It could be a lot worse. I told myself. You could be alone in your apartment, instead of with a home, and people in the house. I rolled to my side. There was a clock on the wall, the hands read 1:01 AM.

Everyone would be asleep by now. I couldn't help but wonder if Zero was home by now. I got up. It's not like I had anything better to do. If someone (like Zero) caught me, I could just say I was going to the bathroom, which was down the hall from Zero's room.

Knowing that I wasn't going to get any rest tonight, I slowly slid to the side of the mattress, cringing at the sound of it crinkling under me. I was so short, that by sitting on the side of the bed, my feet couldn't touch the ground. Only when I let myself slide forward, did they reach enough to rest flatly on the ground.

I took an experimental step, feeling first with my big toe, before quickly jumping over. After determining that the floor would not fall out from underneath my shaky feet, I opened the door a crack. There was no one in the hall, so I opened it further. Still no menacing red eyes coming towards me. So far, so good.

I tiptoed down the hall. Yuuki's room, Chairman's room, laundry room. Then, I arrived at my destination. The door was already half open, but I couldn't see far enough inside. I pushed it, and it flew open, showing a very inviting bed. With no Zero in it. Then I felt stupid. He wouldn't be staying here. He would be in the dorms. I sighed, rubbing my temples. They only stayed at home during weekends and holidays. The Christmas holiday was coming up very soon, I realized. In fact, wasn't today the last day before holidays? Why yes, yes it was. Which would mean that Zero should be staying at home, along with Yuuki. I couldn't afford a dorm anyways, so of course I would be here. Over the summer, I'd had to work almost all hours of the day, just to afford one year here. Without knowing what I was doing, I took a step into his room. Then, I was crawling into his bed. It smelled like him, and I didn't feel alone anymore. When I closed my eyes, nothing but sleep awaited me.

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Zero opened the door, thinking only of the bed that awaited him. Toga-sensei had taken him to a meeting of hunters. They had discussed the VAM group, which was really causing them some trouble. He ran a hand through his hair, yawning. Opening his door, it never registered that someone was laying in his bed, until he heard a voice. "Mom…" she said, and he turned quickly to see her small frame wrapped up in the covers of _his_ bed. He couldn't sleep here, but he was so tired. If Bree was here, her bed was empty right? Hopefully, Bree and himself would be up early enough to switch beds. What in God's name had possessed her to come in his room, anyway? Let alone end up in his bed. He smacked his head at how incredibly perverted that sounded. "You're not in the bed with her, not doing anything wrong." his mind tried to tell him.

He wasn't paying attention to anything but how completely exhausted he felt. In a zombie like trance, his feet carried him to Bree's bedroom, and he fell onto her bed, asleep within seconds.

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Yuuki sat up in bed, suddenly very thirsty. Her throat was dry and her mouth tasted foul and sticky.

She rubbed her eyes, convincing her body that hydration was far more important than a few more minutes of sleep. She slid to the ground, wobbly and still half asleep. But, even in that state, her thirst was compelling enough to lure her out from her room. She yawned more than once on her way to the kitchen, wishing she was still in bed. Then, the cool liquid slid down her throat, and she woke up a little more. A second pair of footsteps, she noticed, was behind her. She turned to see Bree, clad in her sleepwear, also getting a glass from the cupboard. "Can't sleep?" Yuuki asked.

But, as Bree turned to look at her, Yuuki could see she was still almost asleep. "Mmkkjb." Bree mumbled something incoherent, putting the glass away.

Bree's eyes looked glazed, just another sign that she was probably sleep walking, but they were also red. Yuuki knew that it took a lot to make Bree cry, so she must have remembered something new. Since she knew that asking her about it right now would give no answers, she decided to interrogate her tomorrow, when they were both fully functional, and awake.

Then, Bree turned, and began walking back to her room. With a start, Yuuki realized that the room Bree was walking to, was in fact, not hers.

At first, Yuuki began to think of something to say, the only logical explanation being that in her stupor, she had begun walking to the wrong room, before realizing that Zero's bedroom door was open. He always shut it tightly before going to sleep. She watched as Bree disappeared into a bedroom that was most definitely not hers.

Then, Yuuki shook her head, sleepy again. _weird. Too weird to not be a dream. _

With that, she passed off the strange behaviour as lack of sleep.

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_hey guyssssssssssssssssssssssssss! How'd ya enjoy this one? Pleez TELL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

_That last part about Yuuki, I just threw it in for fun. Mostly because I think Yuuki has appeared too little in this story. And she's fun to write about. _

_I noticed in the last chapter, that I changed the name of the association near the end of the chapter by accident. It is indeed VAM (Vampires Association to stop the Madness)_

_This next month is gonna be super, super, SUPER busy for me, so don't expect a quick update. _


	14. Oh, God

Hello friends! Sorry I haven't updated much. I've been very busy, my schedule is still as packed as ever! Not to mention that I've started ANOTHER fanfic! I know what you're thinking: doesn't she already have five other fanfics that shes put off for far too long? Yes, yes I do.

I also know that some of you will be thinking: is she crazy? Yes, yes I am.

Enough about me, though. Please review some more! I was meaning to go through all the reviews and thank you separately, but my computer had other plans for me (it never seems to work right!) but, back to the main issue: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

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I woke up, to the sun shining through the window, signalling that a new day had already begun. For a minute, I thought that I had slept in, and missed school, before realizing that yes, it was Christmas break. I collapsed back into sleep. Taking in a deep breath, full of the scent of the wet grass outside, and Yuuki`s strawberry shampoo that I had used, and the smell of gunpowder and peppermint mixing to together to create something distinctly Zero.

_smell of Zero???_ my eyes snapped open, to see that I was laying in a bed that was definitely not mine. I rubbed my eyes, sure that it must be a dream. When it didn't go away, I panicked. What if Zero came in here and discovered me? What would I say? "Oh, I just got the sudden urge to crawl into your bed with my pyjamas still on. You know, normal stuff." I cringed. definitely not.

What if Zero had already saw me in here? I freaked out, and jumped off his bed. But, like I always seem to do, I misinterpreted the height of his bed, and fell right on my face. By now, I was used to cuts and bruises. I never used to be clumsy. I used to be the level-headed kind of girl who thought things through. I never used to trip over my own feet. That seemed to be a new thing since I'd come here.

I pushed myself up off the floor with a groan. "Dammit all!" I cursed, as I heard someone walk down the hall. I thought for sure they'd stopped at Zero's door, but they continued down the hall.

_stop being so paranoid!_ I told myself. That wasn't new, though. Unlike the clumsiness, I had always been paranoid. But this time, I had a good reason to be. It wasn't exactly good for your image to be caught in a boy's bed.

I snuck to the door, and peeked around it. Still, no one. I relaxed. I slowly opened the door, wincing when it creaked. No one woke up. My moves became more sloppy. I pushed the door to my room aside, already beginning to pull my pyjama shirt off. I wondered where Zero was. Probably still with his sensei.

He'd been with his sensei almost everyday this week, much more than usual.

Then, I heard a muffled snore. I dropped my shirt, smoothing it back against my stomach.

Zero lay sprawled across the bed, his long legs falling off the side. I felt my cheeks heat up. Even if he hadn't been conscious, the fact that he'd still been in the same room with me whilst I was removing my shirt was a fire inside me that warmed and reddened my cheeks. If he'd woken up during it… I shook my head. Definitely not what I wanted to think about. My cheeks flared, and I pushed my hands across my face, whether in an effort to calm down, or to just hide from the world, I wasn't quite sure.

I peeked out the cracks in my fingers. He looked way happier in his sleep then I'd bet I'd ever see him when he was conscious.

Zero's legs hung off of my much shorter bed, and the blanket that I usually drowned in hardly covered him. He looked peaceful, far more peaceful than I'd ever seen him look when he was awake. His mouth pulled up into a half smile, and my heart leapt, and I felt like I was flying.

His lips parted, and he whispered a name.

"Yuuki."

And just like that, the flying feeling was gone. Instead, I was falling, and falling hard. All of my insecurities catching up with me at once, and crashing together like a train wreck.

Funny. I wasn't crying. Though I felt like I ought to be. I brought my hand to the corner of my eye, just in case. It was dry. I guess with all the crying and stress over the past few days, I'd used up all my tears. I guess I'll never catch up to Yuuki in his mind. I guess we'll always be on different levels. I was sick of playing second fiddle.

I stopped myself. Second fiddle? I'd never even _been_ a fiddle. To Zero, I was little more than a friend, if that. Just some chick who lived in his house. Okay, it probably wasn't THAT bad, but still. I was like the perfectly good fiddle sitting of to the side, gathering cobwebs and dust, waiting for someone to pick me up. All I could do was watch the other fiddles being bought, and hope that maybe somebody would want to buy me, too. The other, perfect fiddles that didn't have any broken strings or scratches.

I felt my left eye twitching. Had I really just had an entire inner monologue about _fiddles?_

I had a better imagination then I had first thought. Either that, or I had finally fell of the deep end. Right now, I wouldn't really care either way.

Suddenly, I knew exactly how Zero must feel. Everyday, having to watch Yuuki and Kaname. I felt bad for him, felt bad for me.

I envied Yuuki, and tried very hard to remind myself that she was a very kind person. It wasn't her fault that she had everything I would never have. I ran my hand through my hair. At least it wasn't greasy anymore. Some of the shine was back in it, and when I had realized that fact, I'd ran to Yuuki's room to show her. She had told me that it looked beautiful, and said she wished that her hair was that pretty. Even though I knew it wasn't true, I had still felt good. Really good. Now I understood what an idiot I'd been. A little more shine, a little prettier, it meant nothing. There would be no difference. Yuuki knew this, but she still smiled and complimented me. I used to think I was pretty, until I'd come here. I guess I'd thought I was pretty because it didn't really matter to me before I came here. And, I'd really had no one to compare myself to but my dogs.

I looked at the mirror across from me, and analyzed my features, picking out every small imperfection. I tried not to, but it was like a reflex for some odd reason. My heart shaped face was framed by dark tendrils that had come loose from my ponytail. My blue-green eyes looked back at me disapprovingly. My small lips were set in a frown. I smiled, and it looked a little better.

Then it hit me: What the hell was the point?

Even if I was as beautiful as Yuuki, she would always hold the key to Zero's heart. And Kaname would always be her soul mate. And I would always like Zero. No one here was getting quite what they wanted. I laughed at the obscure love square that was my life. I'd seen plenty of love TRIANGLES, but never a love SQAURE. Betcha not many people get to be in one of those. I laughed darkly.

Guess all I could do was try to except myself for who I was, and what I looked like. Until then, I could never be truly happy. No one can love you until you love yourself.

Once again, I stopped myself. One more speech like that, and people would start mistaking me for Mother Teresa.

Zero rolled over, and the cover fell off of him and onto the floor. I picked it up, and threw it across him. I tucked it in at the sides, trying to keep him under it. When I gave up on trying to cover all of him, I stood back and gazed at him. I didn't want to like him. I wanted to hate him. I wanted to hate him with every ounce of my being. I wanted to hate him for all of the trouble, all the tears and stress he'd caused me. But I knew I couldn't. I wasn't strong enough.

He mumbled something again, and I leaned forward to hear. Then, Yagari's voice drifted from the hall. "Is he up yet?"

"Ah…no." the Chairman responded. I could almost see him rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Then, a set of footsteps began down the hallway. "Ah!" I squeaked, trying to push off of the bed. Before I could get away, a white hand snaked around my wrist, and pulled me until I flew onto Zero's chest. I pushed away and successfully slid off his chest, but couldn't unwrap his long fingers from around my wrist. They were long enough to wrap around once and then overlap. "C'mon, Zero!" I said quietly, glancing towards the door. The footsteps were getting closer. I pried at his fingers, and they loosened. I tried to push out of his grip. Then they tightened again. I held back a groan of frustration. The footsteps were too close. Even if I did somehow manage to wriggle my way out, I would never have enough time to sneak away. Then, I remembered a fact that had been in the back of my mind. This was my room, not Zero's. why would they come to my room to look for him? I breathed a sigh of relief. The footsteps went past my door, then stopped. "Um…Yagari-chan, why don't we try looking in Bree-chan's room first?" the chairman squeaked.

I froze.

Yagari answered haltingly in a tone that reminded me of the way a cat squeaks after it's been dropped in a pail of water. "Why the hell would he be in there?"

"Oh…I just have a feeling."

The footsteps turned around. I cursed silently, trying desperately to slide my hand away.

I glanced below me, to where there was a few inches between the bed and the ground. It was worth a try.

I kneeled down, lifting up the covers. It was way more of a squeeze than I had first thought. I was just about to stand up when the door knob began turning. I dove into the small space.

Wow, it's such a great thing that I have chronic claustrophobia.

I held my breath to keep from hyper ventilating. Through all of this, his hold on me remained strong. My hand was hanging out from beneath the mattress, and I tried to pull it in closer. No such luck. The door opened, spilling light into the room. I threw the covers over my hand, successfully concealing it and part of Zero's, which was still clutching it. Yagari's voice boomed out from above me. "What the…?"

Chairman cross laughed nervously. "I thought so."

How the hell did the Chairman know everything? He was, like, omniscient! Everywhere at once.

"Get up, Kid!"

The covers receded a bit, and I guessed that Zero was pulling them closer. I slid further in. then, the covers disappeared entirely. I peeked out slightly, and saw that Yagari was holding them. "Get Up!" he said, louder.

Zero woke up, and his hold on me loosened. In his stupor, I slipped my hand out from his. I hissed as the blood rushed back into it. I rubbed where his fingers had been. It was indented. I closed my eyes, my lips repeating a silent prayer.

'Pleasedon'tfindmepleasedon'tfindmepleasedon'tfindme'

I swallowed, and held my breath, trying to calm down. It's not like they're gonna kick you out if they find you, I reasoned with myself.

But I didn't believe it. It hadn't made sense for them to take me in from the start. Every morning I woke up surprised to find myself here.

Zero's voice came out groggy, and I imagined him rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Wha?"

Yagari's voice was still stern, but it always sounded like that, so no one could ever be sure what was going through his mind. "Get dressed. We're leaving in five minutes."

Zero made a confirmative grunt. The door opened and I watched from under the bed as Yagari left, with The Chairman following close behind. I let out a silent breath of relief…before remembering that Zero was still in the room with me and currently unbuttoning his shirt. I felt my face heat up, and pushed myself as far back as I could. Suddenly I felt like a stalker. I bit my lip to keep from laughing, shutting my eyes and trying to ignore the fact that Zero was standing in the room with me. Possibly in just his boxers. I slammed my hands down on my head to get rid of the thought.

After a couple of minutes, I peeked through the cracks in my fingers. Thankfully, Zero was fully dressed. He also appeared to be looking for something. He looked down, and a small, triumphant smile played across his face. He reached down, to the base of the bed as I squished further back against the wall. For once I was glad of my petite body. He grabbed his Bloody Rose Gun, and shoved it into his belt. he lingered there for a second, and I held my breath. I was sure that he was going to look, but instead he stood up. But I still held my breath until he left. When he opened the door and walked out, I sucked in huge lungful of air.

I waited for a good ten minutes after he left before I came out from beneath the bed. I crawled on my hands and knees until I was at the door, then I stood up, my knees aching in protest. I stretched my back, wincing as I hit a kink. Great. Now I was going to look like the hunchback of Notre dame. I'd stayed hunched over under the bed for too long.

I opened the door, and stepped out into the unbearably cold hallway. You'd think with the sun shining outside it would be warm. But no such luck. I grimaced and tried to straighten my back out again. It actually worked this time. I continued down the hallway. By the time I got to the kitchen, my feet were solid blocks of ice. Or, at least, it felt that way.

I sat down and began rubbing my feet. Yuuki stumbled out of her bedroom, her hair dishevelled and rubbing sleep out of her eyes. She yawned.

"Did you just get up?" I asked her. It wasn't like Yuuki to sleep in so late.

She gave another infectious yawn. "Ya, for some reason I was really tired."

I nodded. Yuuki went to the fridge and began rummaging around. I answered her unspoken question. "We're outta milk."

She sighed, a drawn out sound. "I'll go get some." she said, her eyes sparkling, signalling that she was awake.

I waited until the click of the door signalled her leave. I went to the fridge and grabbed a box of cornflakes. I poured them into a bowl. Without milk they wouldn't be very good, but they were the only thing and I was really hungry.

I looked back in the fridge. Maybe orange juice… I poured it into the bowl, and took a spoonful. Before gagging it back up.

Okay, I learnt something new today. Don't eat orange juice with cereal. I sighed and settled for a glass of water.

I noticed that I hadn't seen the Chairman yet. "Chairman?" I called. No answer. I shrugged. Then remembered. He'd told me he would be out at a meeting of some kind today. Seems like everyone's at meetings lately. The VAM must be giving them trouble.

Suddenly the house seemed big and eerily silent. Usually at my old apartment my dogs would be making a racket. That reminded me. I hadn't seen my dogs since I got here. The Chairman had decided to keep them in the garage.

I got up, and opened the door to the garage. My dogs rushed at em, barking and wagging there tails. Ratter jumped on me, forcing me to catch him. "I missed you guys!" I shouted.

I sat down on the step and began petting them. Yodel licked my cheek, leaving a line of slobber. "Yodel!" I scolded lightly.

I had missed them. Ratter was the only thing I had left of home. Mom had bought him for me when I was two. The other ones where strays that I had picked up over the years. I'd felt connected to them, because I was a stray too. And, I'd always had a soft spot for dogs. That was something I'd gotten from Mom…

And once again I found myself thinking about my Mother. It hurt, but I liked remembering her. The dogs always made me feel closer to her.

I really hadn't known how Mom had died. The last memory I had of her was her being taken away. Her body had shown up in the lake west of the Orphanage I had been staying in. I wasn't supposed to know about it. I'd been a rebel spirit even back then. I'd eavesdropped on the Nuns, though I kind of wish I hadn't.

After that, I was tossed around between foster homes and orphanages for a while. The Foster Homes had been alright, if awkward, but the orphanages had been absolutely unbearable. The people who ran them didn't really care about our feelings, and had tossed me to the children/monsters and let them tear my self esteem down. I was never much of a fighter. Mom always told me that. Rebellious, yes. A free spirit, yes. But a fighter? I just couldn't see myself as one. But one good thing had come from that. I'd built a skin as thick as steel.

My Mom wasn't in good terms with her family, or at least that's what she'd told me. And my Dad…well, I never really knew my Dad. Mom told me that he had left to try and make things better for us. She said that when I was older, he would come back for us. She always got a wistful, faraway look in her eyes when she spoke about him. Like she was reliving all her days with him in the space of one second. Most of all she'd talk about the eyes he kept hidden behind glasses. She said that was her favourite part of him. And she said she couldn't wait until I could experience love like the one she'd felt for him. She said she couldn't wait to be there and see it.

But she would never see it now.

I felt warmth rolling down my cheeks, and wiped my eyes. I'd never been one for crying, but in the last few weeks, I'd really gone off the emotional charts.

A shadow passed outside the window. I felt my eyebrows knit together. What…? The shadow passed again. I slowly stood up, my heart kicking into high gear. I walked cautiously to the small dusty window. The shadow wasn't there anymore. I reached up to wipe some of the dust off of the glass. Then a face appeared. I squeaked and jumped, before seeing who it was. Adrenaline rushed through me, then left, leaving my limbs tingly. I sank down. I could hear laughter from out side. "Emma," I growled lightly. "Go ahead and let yourself in!"

Emma opened the door, her face shining brilliantly. I'd never seen a smile like that on her before…

"You're such a scaredy cat!" she giggled, brushing strands of loose brown hair out of her face.

I was suspicious. "What are you so happy about?"

Her smile never faltered. "I can't be happy when I have the luxury of scaring you out of your skin?"

I shook my head, and motioned for to sit by me. She plopped down on the step below me. She was wearing a floor length indigo gypsy skirt with dangling gold chains, and I had no idea how she avoided tripping on it. She had on one of those jackets that had puffed out sleeves, the things that were popular in the eighties', and her face…

"Are you wearing makeup?" I asked suspiciously. Emma NEVER wore makeup, and now I could see why. Her makeup skills were as lacking as her fashion sense. Not that I was one to criticize.

She giggled nervously, and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear again. "Just trying to look my best."

"Since when have you cared what you look like?"

She looked down self-consciously at her outfit. "What, you don't think I look nice?"

I could feel my eye twitching. Emma was definitely a teenager now. Touchy and emotional.

"Of course I like it." I told her.

She smoothed down her hair again, only to have it pop back up. I sighed. "Here, let me." I licked my hand and smoothed back her hair, a maternal gesture. This time her hair stayed down.

"Eww!" she squealed, waving her hands. "I don't want your saliva in my hair, Bree!"

"Well, it's staying down now!" I argued.

Emma looked like she was about to retaliate, then she stopped. Her eyes went blank and she leaned forwards. "Do you hear that?" she asked quietly.

"What are you-"

Then I heard it. A keen sound like a bullet passing overhead that dissolved into a rough grumbling. It took my groggy, confused mind a while to realize what it was.

A scream.

Someone was screaming for all they were worth outside. For a second, all we did was stare at each other like idiots. Then, Emma was up and out of the door in a split second. I shot up and took the stairs two at a time.

I swung open the door, to see Emma spinning in circles, looking for the source of the sound. I heard a splat, and turned to see Yuuki standing behind me. She'd heard it, too. Milk was pooling around her boots, and the empty bottle she'd dropped began tumbling away.

Then, the sound started again, before breaking off, in a thump, as if the person had been hit over the head.

Yuuki and Emma were already taking off in the direction of the dorms, leaving me stumbling behind, trying not to trip.

When I finally reached the dorms, Yuuki and Emma were already there, watching something. Yuuki arm shot out in front of me, and I ran into it, nearly being knocked over.

"Ow…" I began, but Yuuki made a motion for me to be quiet, then pointed towards the roof of the Day class dorms.

I felt my eyes widen.

"Oh, God."

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Dun, dun…DUN!!!!!! Cliff-hanger! My FIRST cliff-hanger!!! What do you think is going on????? What do you think is going to happen????? Only I know!!! FOR ONCE I AM HOLDING ALL THE CARDS!!!!! MWA HAHAHAHAHA!

*Ahem* alright. Author's momentary insanity is over. You can all come out from beneath the computer.

Heehee it's so much fun! Please review? Tell me what you think of this chapter?

But, if you want to…could you give me something deeper than the generic 'I liked it and/or I hate it'?

PLEASE????

What I'd really like to know is: what do you think of my OCs? Do you like Emma and Bree? Do you think they're realistic?

If this is asking too much, then you don't have to answer it. But I would appreciate it an awful lot! *Bambi eyes*

Serenity is outta da building!!!!! (Has obviously had too much Coffee today)


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